Foxtale
by Rixel
Summary: When Volpina loses her partner she runs away to Paris, only to end up sharing a University dorm room with Marinette. She refuses to fight ever again, but when Ladybug and Chat Noir find a way to track down Hawkmoth, they need her help. And Volpina can't resist when a certain Blue Peacock starts appearing again. Semi-AU (started writing before Origins aired)
1. How

**A/N: Soooo...I started writing this even before the Origin story and really before I knew much about Volpina at all. I say this because the actual details are all wrong now, but I figured I was going to keep with it anyway and post it all the same. If it bothers you that things aren't spot on, just consider it a closely-associated AU.**

* * *

The street was slick with the fresh rain, but Volpina barely noticed as her feet glided over the top as fast as she could. Above her, Blu Pavone disappeared and then reappeared over and over as he teleported in the same direction as her. She smiled to herself; she knew he could just teleport straight there, but he always waited for her and kept her pace. It was one of the small things he did that she loved him for.

As she rounded the corner, the large shadow monster loomed in the middle of the city park. Its large, dark, transparent tendrils spiralled out and wrapped themselves around all nearby sources of light. Volpina was thankful she could at least still sort of see in the dark, but Pavone would be at a disadvantage. He never did like the dark much.

"A shadow monster?" he grumbled as he landed next to Volpina across the street from the park entrance.

Volpina nodded.

"It's big," Pavone added.

Again, Volpina nodded.

"Like, really big."

"I get it," Volpina said.

Pavone shrugged, the blue and turquoise feathers on his shoulders fluttered in the wind. "I'm just saying."

Volpina looked around the area. With her agility, she could easily distract the monster while Pavone went for its weak spot, but that plan left her with two small problems. Pavone wouldn't be able to see well enough to make an accurate attack, and she didn't know what its weak point was. The tendrils were growing larger with each passing moment and the light continued to fade. Pretty soon, even Volpina wouldn't be able to see well enough to pull off an attack.

"You'll have to distract it," she said with slight hesitation.

Pavone shuddered. "I don't much care for the dark, you know. Peacocks may be able to see ultraviolet, but this thing is just…darkness. I can't even make out where it ends. Seriously, Pina, I don't like the dark."

Volpina looked at him with a smile. "Really? I had no idea."

He rolled his eyes at her and then took off running around the fence of the park. She wondered why he ran instead of teleporting, but figured it was probably so he didn't lose his bearings in the darkness. While she couldn't teleport herself, he'd managed to take her on a couple of small trips before. It wasn't a pleasant experience. She didn't like the way it messed with her brain to blink and be in a completely different place. He said she would get used to it, but she would just rather not. He had his transportation style and she had hers.

Besides, she was as nimble and quick as a fox. That was enough.

Volpina watched him until he turned the corner. She pushed forward into the park just as the giant monster shifted its attention towards Pavone.

"Hello Mister Big Bad Shadow!" Pavone shouted as he waved his hands in the air. "Yoo-hoo! Over here!"

Volpina grumbled internally to herself. He sounded ridiculous, even if his silly calls distracted the monster. She pulled her thoughts away from how his peacocking was going to get him killed one day and focused on the monster.

The problem with the monsters in Italy was they never seemed to have a simple way to destroy them. Her kwami often told her about how in Paris, the monsters weren't monsters at all, and instead were just transformed people that could be changed back by destroying an item. That sounded easy compared to what her and Pavone faced. No, the monsters in Italy weren't akumatized victims. They were the embodiment of pure evil. Italy held lots of ancient secrets, and every once in a while, those secrets manifested as an entity that seemed entirely focused on destroying the city.

Volpina scanned the shadow monster as it started to lash out its tentacles towards Pavone. From the corner of her eye, she could see Pavone teleporting out of the way as the shadow tendrils attacked him.

"Anytime, foxy lady!" he shouted as he teleported a few feet away, another shadow attack slamming down.

Volpina noticed two small holes in the shadow creature. 'Holes' wasn't really the right term. It was more like they were slightly less shaded than the rest of its body. It was more than likely that was the shadow monsters eyes.

She pulled out her flute and played a small melody. Music notes swirled around her and then a small silver sphere dropped out from amid the notes. She grabbed it and started to run towards the creature.

"Close your eyes!" Volpina shouted as she leapt off the ground. As she soared through the air, she pulled the silver sphere out and shoved it straight into the shadow monsters eye hole. Volpina dropped down to the ground and covered her own eyes.

Even with her eyes shut and her arms covering her head, she could still see the explosion of light. The blinding whiteness grew brighter and brighter until Volpina thought it might somehow blind her, and then it faded away in a quick whoosh.

Volpina opened her eyes and blinked several times. It was hard to see and there were spots in her vision, but the shadow monster was gone. She grinned to herself as she twirled her flute in her hand. "That could have been worse."

She turned to look over at Pavone and all the strength in her legs washed away. Volpina fell to her knees.

Pavone was pressed up against a brick wall along the park side. His head hung limply over his shoulder and there was a large gash across his face. Though the shadow tendril wasn't there any longer, a hole remained in Pavone's chest where it had been.


	2. Another Town

Marinette flopped down onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling. It was hard to keep her spirits up in a room that smelled like old socks and burnt popcorn. She fidgeted slightly as she tried to find a way to get comfortable on the lumpy mattress. Even with her own blankets from home, the bed felt completely foreign. Moving away from home to go to a university across the city sounded like a great idea at first, but now that she was here, Marinette was starting to second guess herself. The walls were a dull brown, and the window was so small she doubted she could shimmy out through it. Coming from such a warm and loving household, this dorm felt more like a prison.

"I give up," she said softly. "I want to go home."

Tikki flew out from behind a stack of books on her desk. "You can't give up now. You just got here!"

"I don't like it." Marinette rolled over and pouted at the little kwami. "Maybe I can just live at home."

"Marinette, you've been through this time and time again with your parents. The university is just too far away. You'd spend your days travelling instead of learning." Tikki sighed and flew over towards Marinette. "And you need that extra time to help save Paris, too."

"I know." Marinette frowned. She had previously been so excited to go to university. She was going to study fashion, live on her own and become an adult. It also would help being Ladybug as well, since she wouldn't have to make excuses to her parents for randomly leaving.

However, it was all so…different. And she felt so alone. Alya was still in Paris, but she was attending a different university. Nino and Adrien were there with Alya, too. It was almost enough for Marinette to drop her lifelong dream and study something else, like science, just so she could be with her friends.

But no. She wanted to be a fashion designer. It was the sacrifice she would have to make. Plus, Alya said they'd get together every weekend.

"Oh!" Tikki looked towards the closed bedroom door as a scuffling noise came from the other side.

Marinette sat up and glanced towards the door as well. The noises grew louder and a loud bang hit something just outside the door. It must be her new dormmate. "Hide, Tikki!"

Tikki flew down the back of Marinette's jacket as Marinette got off her bed and opened the door.

The dorm was a small, two single bedroom/single bathroom space that was smaller than most hotel rooms. In the small hallway space between the bedrooms and bathroom was a clutter of small suitcases and a tall, tired looking woman. Her hair was long and dark brown with two small sections of hair secured in the front half of her hair. She wore a medley of golden bracelets and a single necklace with what looked like a tail on it. She was currently scrambling to figure out which key was the key to her bedroom while kicking her suitcases in the general direction they needed to go.

Marinette smiled at the girl. "Hey, you need help?"

The girl looked at her, but didn't smile back. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Marinette leaned forward to grab a suitcase anyway.

The girl stopped fidgeting with the keys and snatched up the suitcase before Marinette could. A light Italian accent lingered in her words. "I said I'm fine."

Marinette flinched and then stood back up. "Okay, sorry."

The girl paused for a moment, as if contemplating something, and then turned back to her keys.

"I'm Marinette, by the way," she offered. "It looks like we're dormmates."

The girl didn't say anything as she found the right key and slipped it into the lock.

"What's your name?" Marinette finally asked.

The girl opened the door and kicked her suitcases into the room. She turned to shut the door and stopped as she met eyes with Marinette who was still waiting for an answer.

"Carlotta," the girl replied, then slammed the door shut.

The next morning, Marinette found it impossibly hard to wake up. It was almost as impossible as dragging her feet to class. She never would have made it if Tikki didn't keep poking her through her jacket. The new place made it difficult to get a good night's sleep and the horribly old mattress made it difficult to sleep well once she managed to doze off. That was something she was going to have to fix; there was no way she could keep up her night time activities as Ladybug if she couldn't sleep well for the few hours she had time to. Even the excitement of her very first day at university wasn't enough to give her the energy to get going.

Her first class of the day was science, which made it even more difficult to stay awake. It was only a general class, but it was still enough information to overload her brain far before it had fully woken up. She pulled out her schedule and a map of the school to figure out how to get to her next class.

After a semi-interesting, yet still informational overload, class on history of design, Marinette found herself finally walking into the class she was most excited for. It was an introduction to fashion design class, and even though she thought she was smarter than an introduction class, it was required before she could take anything better. Still, it sounded far more exciting than any of the other classes she was being forced to take.

Marinette sat down near the front of the class, which was filled with sewing machines and mannequins and scratch designs on the walls. It was absolutely inspiring. She turned to look about the room and take it all in when she noticed her dormmate was sitting in the back row.

"Carlotta!" Marinette raised her hand and waved to the girl.

Carlotta didn't share Marinette's enthusiasm. She smiled weakly, then looked down at her phone and proceeded to ignore Marinette.

Marinette turned back in her seat and slid down with a frown. So much for trying to make a friend. As excited as she was for the class, it was a sad reminder that she was here alone. No Alya. No Nino. And no Adrien. She had no one to talk to during class.

* * *

Carlotta threw her bag down on the floor and flopped face down on her bed. The bed sheets smelled of home, but beneath it she could still make out the strong odour of the dorm room. Even with the window open, the smell didn't seem like it would ever go away.

"Lotta…" A tiny fox-like kwami flew out from the bag and hovered in the air above Carlotta. "You can't keep this up every day, you know."

"I've been here one day," Carlotta mumbled, her voice muffled by the sheets. "Not even that."

"And you're not even trying to get along." The kwami folded her arms across her chest.

Carlotta rolled over and looked up at the little creature. "Roxxy, I'm not here to 'get along'. I told you: I'm just going to study and nothing else."

Roxxy sighed. "At least you could be nice."

Carlotta rolled her eyes. "I'm not being rude, either. I'm just…not being anything."

"You were mean to the other girl in your dorm." Roxxy gestured towards the bedroom door. "And you are going to have to see her quite often if she's in your classes, you know."

"I'll transfer out of the design class." Carlotta waved her hand as if to dismiss the idea.

"Carlotta Rosita Marcone, you will do no such thing!" Roxxy raised her voice and put her little hands on her hips.

Carlotta raised an eyebrow at the little kwami.

Roxxy let out a small breath and relaxed a little. "I know it's been rough lately, but you've worked hard for this. It may not be much, but this is the first step towards making your fashion magazine that you've always wanted to create."

Carlotta looked down at the floor. "Roxxy…"

"I'm serious!" Roxxy said. "I know you said you're done fighting, but I'm not giving up on that just yet. And I sure won't let you give up on your dreams."

Carlotta didn't answer. She just continued to stare at the floor. After what happened with Pavone, with William…she just couldn't bring herself to think of anything else. She didn't want to be part of that world, or any world for that matter. Not anymore. She didn't have the heart to toss Roxxy aside, or else she would have left every part of that life back in Italy. Her fingers absentmindedly touched the small foxtail necklace she wore.

"I'm not going to fight. Not anymore. Let someone else do it. I'm never going to be Volpina again." Carlotta replied.

Roxxy snorted. "We'll see about that."


	3. Hero

Marinette raised her hand to the door and paused with her fist hanging there for a moment. She felt nervous, which was silly because it's not like the girl was going to bite her or anything. Marinette swallowed hard. At least, she hoped not. But it had been a week and Marinette felt like she had to do something or else she'd spend the whole semester not knowing the girl she shared a dorm with.

As Marinette leaned forward to knock, the door swung open and she lost her footing. She fell forward and managed to catch herself by grabbing the doorframe. She looked up to find Carlotta staring down at her in puzzlement.

"Erm, uh, hi!" Marinette straightened up and scratched the back of her neck. She smiled as brightly as she could manage, but her cheeks still burned red with embarrassment. "I uh, I was just about to um, to go out for lunch with my friends and I was wondering if you maybe, uh, wanted to join us?"

Carlotta stared at the girl for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm busy." She pushed passed Marinette and headed towards the main dorm door.

"Oh. Uh, okay then." Marinette said. "Maybe another time then?"

There was no response as the door shut behind Carlotta. Marinette let out a long sigh.

"At least you tried." Tikki poked her head out from Marinette's jacket.

"Yeah." Marinette breathed out. "I don't think she likes me."

* * *

"How are you getting along with your roommate?" Alya asked as she took a spoonful of ice cream.

Marinette shrugged. "I invited her out today, but she said she was busy."

The four of them sat outside the small ice cream parlour, even though it was supposed to be a lunch gathering. Nino had demanded ice cream would be a better solution. Marinette couldn't argue with that; she needed a good pick-me-up.

"Then she was busy," Nino said. "I mean, we didn't give you much notice."

"Maybe she had a class," Adrien suggested.

Marinette's face reddened. She still wasn't used to the idea of Adrien joining them for lunch, erm, ice cream. It had been Alya's idea for him to come along, but since Alya and Nino were dating, it felt almost like a double date. Except Adrien didn't see her like that. At all. He was Adrien. He was too perfect for someone like her. Plus, after all these years, she never told him she had a crush on him. It would be pointless, and horribly embarrassing, to admit it now.

Marinette felt Alya hit her leg under the table and quickly shoved ice cream in her mouth so she wouldn't say something stupid back to Adrien.

Thankfully, Nino changed the subject. "So my music classes are going great. The teacher is even letting me DJ for an upcoming event. It's not much, but it's a real gig, you know?"

Alya patted Nino's shoulder. "It's going to be amazing. And you know I'll be there to film the whole thing."

"What kind of event?" Adrien asked.

Nino shrugged. "I haven't got the details yet. But it's some fundraiser for the student body. You guys are welcome to come if you want."

"Of course!" Marinette smiled.

"How are your classes going, Marinette?" Adrien asked.

Again, Marinette's face flushed red. She bit her lip and tried to think of a way to answer him. "Oh, uh, well, you know. It-it's perfect. I mean, you're perfect. I mean, the classes are dull. But you're not dull, uh, erm, well, it's c-complicated."

Alya laughed and Nino smiled. Adrien didn't seem to get the joke, as always.

"Uh, alright," Adrien said.

"You know!" Alya interrupted, much to Marinette's relief. "With school being so prominent, it would be nice if-"

All four of them froze as a car flew up from the road across the way from them and smashed into a building. People started to run down the street, screaming. The four university students just sat at the table and stared as a large penguin-suited man shot an ice block up from the road to send another car flying. It wasn't until the third car went soaring over their heads that they all moved into action at once.

Alya whipped out her phone while Nino dragged her off behind the brick fence for safety. Marinette saw Adrien dash around one side of the ice cream parlour as she ran the other way. The street was crowded with people trying to run away, but she managed to find a small alleyway that gave her enough cover.

"Tikki!" Marinette called out. "Spots on!"

* * *

Chat Noir bounced off the small awning of the ice cream parlour and pulled out his staff. A moment later, Ladybug swung by him towards the akumatized penguin. He watched as Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo string around the penguin and then pulled it to tighten him up against a light pole. She moved quickly, hanging down from the light to talk to the penguin upside down. It was a risky move, but it was a new tactic.

Chat waited until he saw his cue. As Ladybug talked, he could see the penguin's thrashing slow until he was calm enough to start talking back. It wasn't perfect, and he was strong enough that her yo-yo string wouldn't hold him forever, but he only needed a moment….there! A purple butterfly silhouette appeared around the penguin's face and he started to thrash about again. Ladybug bounced out of the way just as an icicle erupted from the ground and shot towards her in the air.

"Did you get it!?" Ladybug shouted down the street as she swung to escape the penguin's attacks.

Chat Noir quickly pressed the buttons on his staff until a small blip started to appear. It was a circle around a small portion of Paris. It was still too big to get an exact location, but it was far smaller than the last time. "Got it!"

"Alright! Let's do this!" Ladybug landed on the ground in front of the ice cream parlour and Chat dropped down next to her.

Behind them, they could hear Alya squealing in delight as she filmed them. Chat Noir grinned to himself. Even if his real life was changing drastically, it was nice to know his life as Chat stayed the same. He glanced over at Ladybug. "It's still not a pinpoint, but it's smaller."

Ladybug nodded. "Good. That means it's working."

"Won't be long now," Chat Noir said.

A flurry of icicles came towards them from down the street and the pair darted off in different directions to avoid the attack.

"But for now, are you cool with taking care of this chilly bird?" Chat shouted.

* * *

With the akuma defeated and Paris restored, Ladybug and Chat Noir sat under a bridge on the river and looked over the data he'd collected.

"This is quite good, Chat," Ladybug said. "I'm impressed you were able to lock onto his signal so quickly."

Chat Noir grinned and rubbed his shoulder up against hers. "Well, I wouldn't be able to do it without my lady intimidating Hawkmoth, now would I?"

She pushed back on him playfully and focused back on the map. The signal from Hawkmoth was coming from somewhere in a three block radius inside Paris. It was still too large of an area for them to narrow it down, but it was a much better clue than they'd ever had before.

"I think one more time should do it," Chat said proudly. "Maybe two if we're unlucky. We could find Hawkmoth soon, depending on when the next attack is."

Ladybug smiled. "It sounds like you're excited for the next akuma attack."

"What?!" Chat Noir fumbled his staff and looked at her in confusion. When she laughed at her own joke, as well as his reaction, he relaxed.

Ladybug playfully ruffled his hair behind his clip on ears. "Relax, kitty. I know what you mean." She started to get up to leave when Chat Noir stopped her.

"My Lady? Can I...can I ask you a question?"

She looked back at him and was about to make a quirky comment and leave, but something in his expression caught her. She couldn't quite pinpoint it. It was almost as if he looked lost. Ladybug lowered herself back down. "Sure. What's up?"

Chat Noir took a deep breath. "We've been doing this whole superhero thing for a while now. Several years, really. I feel like I've know you since I was a practically a kid."

Though he was grinning while he said it, Ladybug felt like someone had punched her in the gut. A kid? Technically it was true for her too; she'd been far younger than she would have liked when she first wore the costume. Was Chat younger than her? Or even the same age? She always assumed Chat Noir didn't change, that he was the same fun loving kitty. And even though she'd grown up and started university, she just assumed Chat was, well, the same.

Of course, then it hit her that he was probably going to try and ask her out or something crazy like that. "Chat, I-"

"No, no, let me finish." He held up a hand playfully to stop her. "I just…I wanted to let you know how much I've enjoyed it. My life...I never thought I was going to be able to do something with it, you know? And then you came along and we made such a good team, well..."

Ladybug shuddered. Now she was completely confused on what he was going to say. It almost sounded like goodbye. That made her feel a million times worse than if he was just going to say he had a crush on her. Ugh, she couldn't make up her mind! She didn't want him to get too close, but she didn't want him to leave, either!

"But if, after we, you know, defeat Hawkmoth...if you want to just get back to your real life, I'll understand." Chat looked down below them at the Seine. "I feel like I've been dragging my feet over finding Hawkmoth all these years because I don't want to lose you."

Ladybug just stared at him, her mouth hung slightly open. A million things seemed to run through her mind at once. What would happen after they took care of Hawkmoth? There wouldn't be any more akuma. She couldn't go back to her normal life, could she? It wasn't like she had a choice. Chat didn't want to lose her. Would they part ways without her ever knowing who he was? Wait, he knew how to do this the whole time and didn't tell her? They could have found Hawkmoth earlier?!

"You knew how to find him and didn't say anything?!" Ladybug spouted out. It wasn't the most prominent thought on her mind, but her emotions were taking over with all the questions running through her head.

"Huh?" Chat Noir looked up at her. He looked confused for a moment, as if that was the last thing he expected her to say, and then his face reddened. "Well, not exactly, but I had the idea to try it a year or so ago and-"

"We could have saved so many people!" Ladybug jumped up. Her fists clenched at her side. She was a bit surprised at her sudden onset of anger, but the more she spoke, the more justified she felt. "Everything that has happened could have been prevented! It's your fault! You could have stopped it and you didn't! Everyone that got hurt...that's on you! You knew how to stop it and you didn't. People got hurt!"

Chat Noir flinched. "But, my lady, it's not like anyone actually-"

"Don't call me that," Ladybug snapped back. "Just...don't." She pulled her yo-yo out and threw it out towards the city. Without a word, she flew off back towards the university.


	4. Somedays

A giant yawn escaped Marinette's lips as she slumped her head down onto the table in front of her. Her science book lay open beside her with a mound of homework and study sheets beside it. She could feel Tikki poking her from inside her jacket, but Marinette was too tired to care.

After the akuma attack, and after her blow up at Chat, Marinette couldn't go home and just sleep. Instead, Ladybug scouted the 3 block radius for hours last night in search of Hawkmoth. She had no idea what time it was when she finally went back to her dorm room, but it felt like she just laid down when her alarm went off. The lack of sleep was having a big effect on her.

She was still angry and upset at Chat, too, but not for the reason she felt she should be. He'd been right. Once Hawkmoth was defeated, then what? She didn't think she could just stop being Ladybug. It gave her so much confidence and meaning to her life. Could she really just give that all up overnight? She was upset at Chat for bringing it up. Of course, why hadn't she thought of it herself?

Marinette yawned again. She was too tired to think about it now. Just as she was about to drift off to sleep in the middle of the library, Tikki pushed her phone out onto the table with a loud clack. Marinette jumped and looked down at the kwami in confusion.

"Call Alya," Tikki said sweetly. "A nice conversation with your best friend will help wake you up."

Marinette frowned. She didn't want to wake up, she wanted to sleep. She yawned once more and picked up the phone. "I guess you're right." She couldn't afford to sleep through her other classes that afternoon anyway.

"Hey girl!" Alya answered after Marinette dialled in her number. "I was just thinking about you!"

"Oh?" Marinette asked. She kept her voice down to not disturb the others in the library.

"We need to hang out tonight. I've got something to tell you!"

Marinette perked up a little. "What is it?"

"I'll tell you tonight," Alya said with a grin in her voice. "We're all going out to grab dinner around 6 at that pizza place down by your school. Meet you there?"

Marinette smiled. Alya always knew how to make her feel better. "You bet!"

* * *

After class, Carlotta went back to her room and closed the door. It was hard enough trying to just manage living normally, but university classes were not making things easy. She felt like she was barely keeping her head above water, and it wasn't about the subject matter. If she just had to attend classes and pass tests, she could do that. But for some reason, being a university student meant she was supposed to participate in class and speak up. She hated that. Carlotta didn't want to talk to anyone.

"You're not going to make friends with that winning attitude," Roxxy said as she flew up onto Carlotta's desk.

"Who said I wanted to make friends?" Carlotta mumbled in reply. She tossed her notebook onto the desk and slumped down in the chair.

Roxxy folded her arms across her chest. "This whole cold front is really getting old."

"Get used to it." Carlotta opened up her notebook and scanned the page until she found where her notes left off.

The little orange kwami landed on the middle of the page with a scoff.

"Hey!" Carlotta leaned back in surprise.

"Seriously, you need to knock it off," Roxxy groaned. "This kind of temper tantrum is usually reserved for children under five."

"Temper tantrum?" Carlotta narrowed her eyes at Roxxy. She leaned forward and crossed her arms in front of the kwami. "My best friend, my partner, my…my…he was just killed and you want me to just get over it and move on?"

"YES!" Roxxy's voice squeaked a little.

Carlotta pushed herself away from the table angrily and stood up. "You don't get to tell me how I feel. You don't understand." She turned away from the kwami and hugged herself. "It's not something I'm going to get over. It's…I can't."

Roxxy tipped her head back and forth. "Okay, maybe that came out wrong." She flew up over in front of Carlotta's face. "I know you're hurt, Carlotta. I miss him, too. But the point is you can't spend forever moving through the motions without actually living. Do you think William would want you to suffer every day?"

Carlotta sniffed. "It doesn't matter. I-"

She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Roxxy dove under the bed to hide while Carlotta wiped her eyes and opened the door.

Marinette stood there with a nervous grin. "Uh, hi!" she said.

Carlotta stared at her.

"Um, well, my friends and I are going out to get some pizza and I was wondering if you wanted to, um, to join us?" Marinette fidgeted with her hands.

"No." Carlotta started to close the door.

Marinette reached out a hand and stopped the door from shutting. "Do-do you want me to bring you back anything? Some pizza or pasta or something? You've got to be hungry, yeah?"

Carlotta looked at the girl for a moment. She looked small and mousy. And obviously she didn't know how to take a hint. Carlotta sighed. "No, thank you."

"Oh." Marinette pulled her hand back and looked down at the floor. "Okay. Well, if you change your mind…."

Carlotta closed the door.

"That was mean," Roxxy said.

Carlotta snorted and crossed the room over to the window. She opened it and looked out at the small view the dorm offered her. It wasn't much, but she could see the city lights just beyond the university.

"Lotta, no one is asking you to just forget about Will."

"You were." Carlotta lifted a finger up without turning around. "You just did a second ago."

"No, I said-well, okay. Whatever. I was wrong." Roxxy shook her head. "I'm just saying you should try and get out there. Make new friends. Go out as Volpina. I bet Ladybug and Chat Noir would appreciate your help."

Even though Roxxy couldn't see, Carlotta still rolled her eyes. "I told you I'm never going to be Volpina again. Ever."

The kwami flew over towards her and sat down on the window sill. "What if it was just to escape for a little while?"

"What?" Carlotta looked down at her.

"Think about it," Roxxy said. "You could run fast. Take a quick tour of the whole city. Just a trip, out by yourself."

The thought was intriguing to her. In fact, Carlotta really loved the idea of just running as fast as she could until her body collapsed from exhaustion. It would be a good way to remove the thoughts from her head. She stared at the kwami for a minute.

"Alright," Carlotta gave in. "But no fighting!"

* * *

Adrien walked through the city with his head hung low. All day his thoughts had been on Ladybug and what she'd said. He hadn't been able to concentrate on anything else. It was all his fault. She was right. How could he not have seen that earlier? Just because Ladybug restored everything and no one physically got hurt, that didn't mean that no one was emotionally hurt. Akuma attacks were still scary and he'd been too nervous to test his theory out.

In his defence, it wasn't like he thought of the plan and decided NOT to do it because of losing Ladybug. The thought never really occurred to him until after they started tracking Hawkmoth. But maybe subconsciously that was why he never presented the idea to her. Ladybug gave him life. She was the main reason he went through the motions of life. If he lost her, what was the point of even pretending anymore? Adrien shuddered. Without her, without Chat Noir, he'd probably just curl up in a ball in his room and never leave.

A block away from the pizza place, Adrien heard a crash. Instinctively, his thumb rubbed over his ring. He looked around, but the crash didn't seem to reveal anything. After a moment with nothing out of the ordinary, he shrugged it off and started walking again. A few steps later, he heard another crash. This time it was followed by a hollow maniacal laughter that could only come from someone who was akumatized.

"Plagg?"

Plagg poked his head out from Adrien's shirt and nodded.

"Claws out!"


	5. Human of the Year

**A/N: Okay, can I just say I started this fic at the worst time possible?! Now that we know Volpina's name, I feel like this is totally useless. UGH! I mean, I'll keep going, but I really hope it doesn't bother everyone that I'm writing her name as Carlotta.**  
 **Like I said, just consider it some sort of semi-AU.**

* * *

Marinette lucked out. She'd been on her way to the pizza place when she passed a store that had a news report playing. There was another akuma attack. It killed her to pull away from an evening with Adrien (and Alya and Nino, too, of course), but she didn't have a choice. With only the slightest hesitation, she transformed and headed off towards the complete opposite end of town. At least she found out before she made it to her friends. It was easier to send a text saying she was late rather than coming up with an excuse as to why she had to leave suddenly.

Ladybug swung quickly above the city and she noticed Chat Noir coming from off in the distance. She frowned. They hadn't exactly left on good terms last time. She hoped it wouldn't matter, that they'd still be able to fight together without any problems, but she doubted it. She still held some resentment, and she wouldn't be surprised if he was now angry at her, too.

As she got closer to where the akuma attack had been reported, she started to slow down. Something was wrong. She looked around the area as Chat Noir landed down next to her. They both scoured the area, but the akuma was nowhere in sight.

"At least I'm not the only one who thought there was an attack." Chat Noir laughed nervously.

Ladybug shook her head and took off to look around the area. He followed closely behind, but didn't say anything more.

As she turned down a street, she was surprised to see an elephant lying on its side with what looked like an akumatized version of a circus director lying on top of it, barely conscious.

Ladybug stopped short and Chat Noir crashed into her back. He stumbled backwards, and shortly expressed what she was feeling.

"Okay, that's a first." Chat Noir took a step towards the scene.

The craziest part of it all was a woman who stood on top of it all with one foot on the akuma. Her arms were folded across her chest and she grinned triumphantly.

"About time you showed up," the woman said. She jumped down and walked down the street towards them. She wore a costume like a fox, which set both Ladybug and Chat Noir into instant fight mode. They both crouched down, ready to attack, as the woman approached.

She laughed. "Relax, I'm on your side." She tossed Ladybug a black cane. "That cane is where his power came from. It's where the evil thing is. That's how you do it here, right?"

Ladybug looked down at the cane, then at the woman, then to the elephant and akuma, then back to the woman. "Uh...thanks?"

"Don't mention it." The woman tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Really, though. You guys sure took your time. I watched him destroy three buildings before I figured I had to jump in."

Chat's hand seemed to linger in front of Ladybug protectively. She bit her tongue and pushed him out of the way. As weird as the situation was, she didn't think this woman was a threat. And she certainly didn't need him to protect her.

"You just watched?" Ladybug asked.

The woman flinched lightly then shrugged. "It's not really my thing anymore. Besides, this is your territory and stuff, right?"

"Who are you?" Chat Noir asked.

The woman straightened up. "Volpina. I'm...on sabbatical, you could say." Then after a soft hesitation, she added, "Permanent sabbatical."

"Okay?" Chat Noir didn't seem convinced.

Volpina gestured back over her shoulder. "You going to take care of this guy or what? We...I don't really have this whole akuma thing usually, so it's not my thing."

Ladybug looked down at the cane and nodded. She glanced over at Chat Noir to silently hint that he should watch over this Volpina woman, but he didn't meet her look. It bothered her a little, but she didn't have time to deal with it then.

* * *

Chat Noir watched Ladybug head over towards the akuma and then turned his attention back to Volpina.

"So, you're a super hero, like us?" He tilted his head in curiosity. It was nice to have something else to focus on instead of the tension between him and Ladybug.

Volpina bit her lip. "Yeah. I mean, I was. It's not really my thing anymore."

"Why not?" he asked.

She shrugged, obviously not comfortable with the question. "I'm just not."

"I didn't think it was something you could just leave."

"Apparently so."

Chat folded his arms across his chest and grinned. "Looks like you haven't quite given up just yet."

Volpina frowned. "If you guys had shown up in time, I wouldn't have needed to interfere."

Chat Noir bowed. "Well, purr-fect timing on your part. Thanks for stopping this cat-astrophe."

He could hear Ladybug groan as she rejoined them. Behind her, a little white butterfly flew off into the distance and a soft light spread out over the area to repair the damage done.

"Are there more like you? Like us?" Chat asked.

Volpina glanced off to the side. "There was...there used to be..."

Chat looked over at Ladybug, who met his gaze. He was glad she noticed it too. Volpina was hiding something.

"Look, I'm not here to do your work for you, you know." Volpina pulled out a card from her belt and held it out between her two fingers. "But if you need help, feel free to call me. My name is Carlotta Marcone and I'm just a student at-"

Ladybug gasped, cutting her off. Even Chat Noir took half a step back.

"What?" Volpina asked.

"You can't just tell us who you are!" Ladybug said.

Volpina looked between Chat Noir and Ladybug. "What? I don't get it. You guys are just like me."

Chat Noir shifted uncomfortable. He glanced over at Ladybug, who seemed downright shocked. He cleared his throat. "We, uh, we keep our identities a secret. From everyone."

"Wait, seriously?" Volpina chuckled to herself. "Even from each other?"

Chat nodded.

"What do you do if there's an emergency? What if one of you is busy and doesn't know there's an attack? I mean, come on, that's a bit naive, don't you think?" Volpina said.

Chat Noir could feel Ladybug's eyes on him, but he didn't dare look at her. He just shrugged. "We've managed so far."

Volpina shrugged and handed the card to Chat Noir. "Well, whatever, I guess. But here's my number. Call me if you need help."

Before either Chat or Ladybug could say anything else, Volpina took off at an alarming speed into the city.


	6. Lady

**A/N: I honestly can not even after the Volpina episode. I loved it so freaking much I can't even express it! Seriously though, it was amazing.**

 **HOWEVER! I still feel incredibly silly since Carlotta/Volpina is nothing like Lila/Volpina. AND THAT'S OKAY! I mean, really, it would have been boring if she was exactly as I pictured her. I love that Lila is like she is.**

 **BUT for the sake of this fanfiction, Carlotta remains the same. And she's a miraculous holder. So for this story, just totally go AU then, eh? kthnxbi**

* * *

Ladybug felt like her legs were rubber. It took most of her consciousness just to leap up onto the roof so she wasn't standing in the middle of the road like an idiot. Instead of her mind racing, it seemed to just stop altogether.

Volpina was Carlotta.

Carlotta was her dormmate.

Her dormmate was just like her.

She slowly sunk down and sat upon the roof. The city lights spread out below her, but she couldn't even think about its beauty at the moment. She couldn't even think about how angry she was at Chat as he sat down a little bit away from her. It was all just...blank.

After a moment, Chat Noir finally spoke up. "Are you alright?"

Ladybug turned her head to look at him. Did he know Carlotta too? No, of course not. Paris was a city filled with thousands and thousands of people. The likelihood that she knew Carlotta was so extreme. Maybe that's why it caught her so off guard. And for her to be her dormmate...the odds were astounding. But Chat Noir wouldn't know her. Just like she was sure she didn't know Chat.

She finally managed to nod slightly.

Chat Noir hesitated. "You don't seem it."

Ladybug took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her mind grudgingly began to work again. This was good, in a strange way. If there really was an emergency, they had someone else to rely on. They'd managed well enough on their own so far, but having someone else on their side when they took on Hawkmoth was a good idea. Ladybug just wasn't sure she liked the part where Volpina was Carlotta.

Maybe that was a good thing, too. Sure, she knew Chat well enough and trusted him completely, but she didn't know who he was. For all she knew, Chat Noir was a serial killer in real life. Of course he wasn't, but that didn't stop the fact that she knew less about him than any other serial killer. Meanwhile, Carlotta was someone she could get to know outside of fighting. And being dormmates with her made sneaking out and discussing tactics that much easier. Maybe knowing who your partner was wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Ladybug looked over at Chat Noir who was keeping his distance. It took her half a heartbeat to realize why he wasn't acting himself. Right, she was mad at him. But was she now? After the shock from Volpina, she didn't feel anger towards him.

Ladybug reached a hand out towards him and gestured him over. Chat scooted a little bit closer, but nowhere near the proximity he would normally keep while flirting. She supposed it would have to do for now.

"Chat?" Ladybug said quietly. She turned to look back out over the city. "Do you ever wish you knew my identity?"

She could feel him looking at her. It made her slightly uncomfortable, but not for the reason she thought it would. It was because he wasn't looking at her flirtatiously. He was angry or sorry or something in between, but his silent stare was something that made her feel guilty and horrible and torn apart inside. He was quiet for so long that she figured he wasn't going to answer her. When he did speak, it made her jump.

"Yes," he breathed out in a soft desperation.

Ladybug shuddered. She hadn't expected that response. Sure, she was a little curious as to whom he was, but she never felt the need to know and she assumed he felt the same way. Apparently not.

"Oh," she replied.

Chat Noir moved closer to her and put his arm behind her. He still wasn't touching her, but it was an improvement. He seemed more relaxed. "But I won't ask you if it's not what you want, my lady." His voice had a forced chipperness to it.

"Isn't it dangerous?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"You've been controlled before," she pointed out. "If you knew who I was, what's to stop you from telling Hawkmoth if you get taken over again?"

Chat thought for a moment. "Well, I don't really remember it when it happens, but I don't think I've ever told him who I was."

She glanced at the city below them. He was right. It would have been easier for him to give up his own identity, and he never did. Maybe there was no danger.

"Do you know Carlotta?" Chat asked. "In your real life, I mean."

"Do you?" Ladybug shot back.

"I asked first," Chat said coolly, though he still sounded reserved.

Ladybug didn't answer. She couldn't. If she admitted to knowing her, on the strange off chance that he actually did, it could give away who she was.

"Do you want to know who I am?" Chat changed the subject.

Ladybug shook her head. "I didn't before. I didn't think we needed it. I didn't think I needed it. But now…." She trailed off and curled her knees up to her chest.

She sighed. The shock of Volpina was enough to get her talking to Chat Noir again. She couldn't be mad at him, and she wasn't entirely sure she ever was. She was mad at herself. And now it looked like she may have made another mistake by keeping her identity secret from him. She couldn't afford to lose her partner right now. Chat was the one she relied on the most, after all. And when they defeated Hawkmoth and he was gone, what would she do then? All the emotions inside her were making her feel more like a crazed teenager than a sophisticated university student. And most of those emotions centered on losing Chat.

She leaned sideways and put her head on his shoulder. She felt him tense up for a moment, and then when he relaxed, his arm draped across her shoulder.

* * *

Chat Noir felt like an idiot.

His heart was pounding in his chest as he sat next to his love. His arm was around her, he was touching her, and yet he felt like she was a million miles away. Was she really that upset over their identities, or was she still mad at him for before?

"I'm sorry," he said. "About before. I didn't-"

"Chat," Ladybug interrupted him. "Don't worry about it. I'm not mad at you."

He relaxed at her statement and even allowed himself to smile a bit. He hadn't realized just how tense he'd been over the fear of her being upset with him, and he sure didn't want to say anything now to screw it up.

Thankfully, Ladybug spoke up first. "It's been years. Don't you think it would be odd if we revealed our identities now?"

Chat's smile widened. "Not at all. I'd love you no matter who you were."

He heard a soft groan from her, and then felt a poke in his side as she elbowed him. It was a playful response, which was good. Though he would have preferred a love confession in return, making her feel better was still enough to make him happy.

"Don't worry, LB," Chat Noir said in his normal, flirtatious voice. "I won't ask you. And I won't tell you who I am if you don't want me to."

"Mm."

Ladybug stayed there, with her head on his shoulder, and Chat hoped the moment would never end. He'd nearly torn himself apart in fear of her being mad at him, and now she was one step closer to telling him who she actually was. It was a dream he couldn't even begin to comprehend. He'd imagined it a million times. Who was Ladybug? Was she famous, like him, and used the suit to escape her confined life? Or was she quiet and shy, and hid from the world when she wasn't saving it?

To him, it didn't matter. She was his lady, and he meant it when he said he'd love her no matter who she was.

If only she felt the same way…

He felt something vibrate and both of them flinched. Ladybug looked down at her phone, which he didn't even know she had. He didn't get a chance to see what was on it before Ladybug squealed and jumped up to her feet.

"What?" He jumped up as well, worried that something bad had happened.

Ladybug's finger traced up on the screen as she read something. "I totally forgot to text my friend! She's freaking out that I haven't contacted her back yet. She said she had something to tell me, and I was supposed to meet her before the akuma attack!"

Chat Noir chuckled. He knew how she felt. He was on his way to meet up with his friends too, and ended up sending Nino some lame excuse about how he had an emergency photo-shoot. As much as he despised his modelling life, it did come in handy for use as a quick getaway excuse. "You'd best call her back then."

"I will." Ladybug looked up at Chat with a half-smile and nodded. "And thanks, Chat."

He blinked. "What for?"

She tilted her head in such a way that the light from the city reflected off her hair. Her smile broadened, and for a moment Chat thought his heart stopped. He'd never seen her look so genuine, or so beautiful, in his life.

"For being a friend."


	7. Patron Saint

The next morning, Marinette found herself racing to get ready for class. She nearly collapsed from exhaustion the night before as soon as she walked in the door after apologizing to Alya for almost 20 minutes on the phone.

But it had been worth it. Alya's big news was that Nino's DJ event was a masquerade! And she was invited! Marinette was over the moon with excitement over the idea of making a beautiful ballroom gown and mask. Alya wanted her to make her dress as well, in a Ladybug theme. Marinette decided that she would wear a black cat theme, in honour of Chat Noir, so she would match Alya. That alone seemed to make Alya almost forget that she totally ditched her earlier that night. Almost.

"Tikki! I can't find my fashion design homework!" Marinette screeched as she tore apart her backpack.

"It's in the drawer with your markers." Tikki yawned. "You put it there so you'd remember where it was."

"Oh, right!" Marinette scrambled across the room and yanked open the drawer.

"What happened last night?" Tikki said. "The akuma was already beat by that girl? Did you get her name?"

"Yeah," Marinette said as she pulled out a market to add some last minute touches to her homework. "Have you ever heard of Volpina?"

"Oh!" Tikki perked up. "Yes! She's fought alongside some Ladybugs before. But last I heard she was in Italy with…oh."

Marinette paused and looked up from her homework. "'Oh'?"

Tikki frowned. "Well, her partner was Blu Pavone."

"There's more?!" Marinette's jaw dropped as she gawked at the kwami.

Tikki nodded. "But last I heard, they faced an incredibly dangerous shadow monster and Blu Pavone, he…he didn't make it."

Marinette stared wide eyed at Tikki. "Didn't make it? You mean he was killed?!"

Again, Tikki nodded.

Marinette felt her chest freeze over. Killed. While facing a monster? Was that something that could even happen? She never thought of that before. Could she or Chat actually…? Oh, poor Carlotta! No wonder she didn't like all of their questions last night! She looked towards her closed door. Here she was struggling with the thought of not being able to see Chat anymore when they defeated Hawkmoth; she couldn't even imagine trying to stay sane if something was to actually happen to him. No wonder Carlotta pushed her away.

"Are you okay?" Tikki asked.

Marinette looked back at her. "Yeah, I just feel bad is all."

"Yeah." Tikki looked down at the ground and hugged herself.

"Oh, Tikki! Are you okay?" Marinette scooped up the kwami in her hands and nuzzled her against her face. "I didn't even think. Did you know him?"

Tikki smiled weakly. "No, not him personally. Just his kwami, of course. But it's still hard on all of us when a hero…" She trailed off.

Marinette swallowed hard. How many Ladybugs had Tikki lost? 5000 years was a long time. "I'm so sorry, Tikki."

* * *

Marinette felt sneaky, and she liked it.

In her fashion class, the one with Carlotta, they were assigned a project to do with a partner. The teacher had everyone write down their names on a scrap of paper and then pick their partner out of a hat. Marinette saw Carlotta's paper was blue, so she peaked when it came time for her to pick and just miraculously got Carlotta's name.

It was a bit like cheating, but Marinette couldn't let an opportunity like this just pass her by. It was a chance to finally get to know her dormmate. And to get to know the girl behind the fox mask. At least now Carlotta would be forced to talk to her as someone other than Ladybug.

So she invited Carlotta over that afternoon, and the two girls found themselves on the floor of Marinette's dorm room with a plethora of books and fabrics spread out between them. Carlotta was incredibly knowledgeable and proved to be a great partner.

"How do you know so much about fashion?" Marinette asked. She was beginning to think they had more in common than just being costumed heroines at night.

Carlotta leaned back and grabbed her drink off a stack of books. She seemed far more pleasant and relaxed than the other times Marinette interacted with her. "It's a hobby. I'm into graphic design, really, but I love the way fashion interacts with it." She took a sip of her drink. "I want to make a Fashion Magazine someday."

Marinette's eyes widened. "Oh! That sounds amazing!"

Carlotta shrugged and put her drink back. She leaned forward and grabbed a small patch of floral fabric and put it up against a dark blue textile.

"Hm, actually, with that material it would be easier to stitch it with something more like…" Marinette leaned off to her side and grabbed a silk in almost the same shade of blue. She put the piece down next to the floral fabric Carlotta picked out. "This."

Carlotta almost smiled. "Ah. You're pretty good at this stuff."

Marinette blushed and pushed her hair back behind her ear. "You're not too bad yourself." It was nice to finally talk to Carlotta, and Marinette was surprised how nice and easy going she was once she was forced to hang out. It felt like a completely different person than the woman who barely spoke a word to her when she moved in.

"Thanks," Carlotta grinned.

"So, uh," Marinette switched topics to something other than their assignment. It was time she got to know who Volpina was in real life. "You're Italian, no?"

Carlotta seemed slightly caught off guard by her question, but nodded. "Lived there all my life. Various cities, but always in Italy."

"So, uh, why the sudden move to Paris?"

"Who wouldn't want to go to Paris?" Carlotta smiled weakly. "I mean, it's one of the greatest cities in the world, right? Plus, the university had the major I wanted and all."

"Oh," Marinette said. That was an incredibly simple and reasonable answer. She hadn't expected that. "Well, I've always wanted to go to Rome. See the sights. Or Venice! And of course Milan. I bet it's amazing."

"Yeah, I guess." Carlotta's voice lowered and she looked back down at their assignment.

Marinette noticed. "S-sorry. Did I upset you?"

"No, it's just…" Carlotta bit her lip. "To be honest, I came here to get away from there."

"Get away?!" Marinette gasped. "But why would you want to do that? Italy has so many great cities! And the fashion! Oh, it's incredible!"

Carlotta poked at a fabric square close to her. "I lost someone. And all those places…they just remind me of them, you know?"

Marinette felt her stomach tie in knots. Of course! Tikki said Volpina lost her partner. It made sense. She would run away too if she lost Chat Noir. Actually, she didn't even know what she'd do if she lost him. She didn't think she could go on being Ladybug, that was for sure. She felt terrible for bringing it up. "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," Carlotta said in a way that Marinette got the impression she wasn't fine. Carlotta looked down at her watch. "I've got a class in a few minutes, so I better get going."

"R-right! Of course! How silly of me!" Marinette stumbled over her words. She found herself hoping she hadn't scared Carlotta off for good.

The two of them stood up and Carlotta grabbed her bag. She half turned towards the door and then hesitated. "Maybe we can finish this some other time?"

Marinette's face brightened. "Yes! Of course! Anytime!"

"Okay." Carlotta nodded and headed back towards her room. "See ya, Marinette."

"Bye-bye!" Marinette waved as she closed her bedroom door behind her. She spun around and slid down to the floor.

* * *

Carlotta grabbed her books off her desk and Roxxy poked her head out of her jacket.

"So, Marinette was nice," Roxxy chirped.

"Mm," Carlotta mumbled as she packed her bag for her class.

"I'm glad you're making friends again."

Carlotta paused for a moment then turned to the kwami. "She's my partner for an assignment."

The little kwami grinned mischievously. "Uh-huh."

With a groan and a roll of her eyes, Carlotta tossed her bag over her shoulder and hurried out of her room. On her way out, she glanced over at Marinette's door.

"Maybe just one friend," she said quietly, and Roxxy giggled from inside her jacket.


	8. Genius Next Door

The next day, the girls were in Marinette's room again going over their project. Marinette was really starting to like Carlotta. The Italian girl was just shy, in a more defensive-like way. Now that they were working together, she'd begun to open up a little to Marinette, and they both found they enjoyed spending time together.

"Okay, but if we use this blue and add the tiniest bit of green, it can be oceanic in nature." Carlotta pushed around some designs and fabrics on the floor.

Marinette quickly grabbed some more swatches and started to arrange them around Carlotta's set. It was incredible how well she worked with her. They both came from different backgrounds in design, but somehow they complimented each other so well. Marinette loved it, and felt like her own skills were dramatically increasing because of it.

"Knock, knock," a voice came from the doorway.

Both of the girls turned to look, and Marinette's face instantly flushed red as she saw Adrien standing there.

Adrien. In her bedroom doorway. He stood there just looking sooooo amazing.

"Um, hi?" Carlotta said after the silence was just a beat too long.

"Hi!" Marinette finally snapped together. Her arms flailed around as she tried to relax and look cool at the same time. It was an utter failure at both. "A-Adrien! What are you doing here? I mean, how did you get here? Erm, I mean, um, hi!"

Adrien smiled slightly. "Alya wanted me to grab you to go hang out. I was closer than her, so I offered to pick you up. Do you want to go? I think she has some details about Nino's upcoming event."

Marinette's face deepened in red. A ride with Adrien? Alone?! No way! Oh, she'd have to thank Alya a million times over when she next met up with her. "Uh…uh…sure! I mean, wait. I'm in the middle of a project."

"It's okay." Carlotta smiled. "Go have fun with your friend."

"Sorry." Adrien turned to Carlotta and politely extended his hand. "I'm Adrien."

"Ack! S-sorry! Where are my manners!?" Marinette stuttered. "This is my dormmate!"

Carlotta shook his hand. "Carlotta Marcone."

Adrien visibly stiffened at her name, but subtly covered it with a smile.

"Your accent!" he gasped. "You're Italian?"

Carlotta nodded.

"What brings you here?" Adrien asked.

Marinette jumped to her feet. She knew it bothered Carlotta to talk about Italy and why she left, so she wanted to change the subject quickly. "Right! Well, I mean, if you don't mind, Carlotta, I guess I should be on my way. Can't keep Alya waiting!"

Carlotta got up to her feet. "Of course. Have fun!"

"Uh, you can come too, if you want?" Adrien asked.

Marinette looked between Carlotta and Adrien and a wave of nausea washed over her. Oh, stupid, stupid Marinette! How did she not see it before?! The way Adrien was looking at her, the way he reacted to her name and accent. Adrien was attracted to Carlotta! Internally, Marinette groaned. Sure, Carlotta was nice and all once you got to know her, but Adrien wasn't supposed to be interested in her. Especially not when Marinette was standing right there! Why couldn't he see her?!

"No, no," Carlotta replied. "I don't want to intrude."

Marinette felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. Adrien couldn't take his eyes off Carlotta. They were wide with wonder and she knew he was falling more and more for the Italian every second. It was like Marinette's entire world was falling apart. And the worst part was she couldn't hate Carlotta for it. She had no idea. And if anyone needed more friends and comfort, it was Carlotta. As her doormmate, Marinette could probably just say no and leave with Adrien alone. But as her secret heroine companion, she couldn't. Especially since she knew what Volpina had gone through.

"You're not intruding," Marinette said weakly. "In fact, why don't you go instead of me? I have some homework to finish up anyway."

"What? No!" Carlotta folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not going without you. I don't know these people."

Adrien chuckled. "We're not crazy."

Marinette bit her lip. The sound of his laughter was so enticing. She wanted to do what was right and let Adrien have some alone time with Carlotta, and she especially didn't want to be around them if he was going to be flirting with her all night. But if she didn't go, he wouldn't get the chance to flirt. Marinette groaned. "Alright. We'll all go."

"Great!" Adrien cheered. Marinette noticed his eyes never left Carlotta. "I've got the car waiting outside."

"Oh, he has a car." Carlotta elbowed Marinette slyly.

Marinette knew her dormmate was making a joke, but she couldn't find it in her to laugh. "Yeah. Something like that."

* * *

When they pulled up to the park, Adrien watched Carlotta as she gave the limo a final glance before stepping out. He hadn't been able to stop staring at her the whole ride and he was relieved that she was too excited about the limo to notice.

Carlotta Marcone. That was Volpina's name. And after a quick glance at the card she gave Chat Noir the other night, he confirmed that it was her. The addresses matched up. How incredibly coincidental that he would meet her. Even more so that she would be in the same dorm as Marinette. It was like fate wanted them to meet up. Should he tell her who he was? He couldn't while Marinette was there; he'd have to do it alone. But should he was the question. Ladybug had made it clear their identities were a secret. Just because Volpina didn't mind saying who she was didn't make it alright to do so.

"Mariette! Adrien! Over here!" Alya stood up on a park bench and waved them over. Nino was sitting on the bench next to her.

"Hey, Alya!" Marinette ran off towards her friend.

Adrien looked over at Carlotta, but she already took off after Marinette. With a sigh, he jogged towards the group. He needed to get Carlotta alone.

And then what? Ask her if she was Volpina? Tell her who he was? Maybe first he needed a plan.

"Hey, is this the illusive dormmate?" Alya eyed Carlotta up and down.

"Yup," Marinette nodded. "Carlotta. Here from Italy."

"Oh, fancy!" Alya grinned. "Maybe I can interview you later for the school paper. You know, get an outsider's impression of Paris."

"Um, okay?" Carlotta raised an eyebrow.

Marinette laughed. "Alya's a journalist in training. She's pretty sly. I've learned to just give in and let her interview you. It's easier than her rummaging through your stuff to find out your secrets."

Alya beamed. "You bet, girl!"

While they talked, Adrien watched Carlotta carefully. She seemed slightly uncomfortable, but still made an effort to interact with the group. This wasn't at all how Volpina was the other night. She acted so differently that Adrien was starting to doubt they were the same. Yet, he did it too, didn't he? Chat Noir brought out a side to him that Adrien never could express. Maybe it was the same for her.

"So! The masquerade?" Nino butted in.

"Right!" Alya pulled out four tickets from her back. "It's next weekend, and the theme is 'Under the Stars'! I know, doesn't really mean much, but it's a masquerade and that means crazy adorable costumes!"

Marinette took her ticket from Alya. "I can't wait! I've almost got your design finished, Alya, and I can have you over in a couple of days for measuring."

Alya handed a ticket to Adrien, and then held out another one for Carlotta. "Here, you know you want to go."

"Erm, what?" Carlotta blinked.

"It's a masquerade at my school," Alya said. "Nino's DJing it, and I'll be recording the whole thing. It's going to be super fun. You should join us."

"Yeah!" Adrien finally spoke up. "You should. It would be great to have you there."

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Marinette hunch over, but he was far too nervous about Volpina to really notice. It would be a perfect opportunity for him to show up as Chat Noir and ask Carlotta herself if she really was Volpina.

Carlotta swallowed then took the ticket from Alya. "O-okay."


	9. Eet

The sun was starting to set and the lights came up in the park before the group decided they better get going. Marinette was surprised how well Carlotta was getting along. After only an hour, Carlotta seemed to be relaxed and joining in the conversation willingly. That made Marinette happy. Carlotta needed friends.

What didn't make her happy was how Adrien was acting. Part of her was glad he at least was interested in someone nice, unlike Chloe, but she still felt that twinge of jealousy. Thankfully Carlotta didn't seem to be acting that interested in Adrien. But Marinette couldn't ignore how Adrien wouldn't take his eyes off Carlotta. Even if he was talking to someone else, he kept sneaking glances.

Finally, someone suggested it was time to get going and the gang slowly made their way towards the park exit.

"She's pretty cool." Alya slid up next to Marinette.

Marinette jumped. "Heh, who? Carlotta? Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?" Alya asked, then followed Marinette's line of sight. "Oh. Adrien. Yeah, sorry."

"You noticed, too?" Marinette sighed in defeat.

"It's pretty obvious." Alya replied. "I think the only one who hasn't noticed is Carlotta herself. Either that or she's too embarrassed to say anything."

Marinette looked at Adrien from the corner of her eye. He was sharing a laugh with Nino and Carlotta. His laugh was normally something that made her feel joy, but this one twisted up her insides.

"You okay, girl?" Alya asked.

Marinette shrugged. "I'll be fine. After all, it's not normal to have a crush on a guy this long. It's about time I got over him."

Alya's phone beeped and the two girls looked down at her screen as she pulled it up. It was a news alert. Apparently there was another Akuma.

Marinette's eyes quickly darted to Carlotta. Alya called the group over and they all watched the news report. It was hard to tell what was going on with such a small screen; all they could really see where flashes of blue light. Whoever it was, they were freezing people in place all over Paris. Marinette took a step back.

"I better get going," Adrien said quickly. "Nathalie will be furious if I'm out this late with an akuma on the attack."

"Okay, see ya." Nino said without looking away from the screen.

Marinette saw Adrien hesitate. He was looking at Carlotta, almost as if he was waiting for her to say something. She didn't, and finally Adrien sighed and left.

Marinette looked curiously at Carlotta now. If she was Volpina, why wasn't she taking off to transform? Didn't she care? She felt something poke her inside her jacket and realized Tikki was trying to urge her to go.

"I better get back, too." Marinette giggled nervously. "Carlotta, you want to come with me or…."

"I'm alright." Carlotta looked up at Marinette. "I was going to swing by the art store on my way home for some supplies."

Marinette nodded and ran off down the street after saying goodbye to her friends. Once she rounded the corner, she found a parked car and ducked behind it.

"Quit stalling!" Tikki flew out from her jacket. "We have work to do!"

"Sorry." Marinette said.

* * *

Chat Noir bounced off the buildings of Paris and headed straight for the Eiffel Tower. The news report said the blue flashing light was blinking in and out all over the city, and if there was a central enough high point that Chat could look out for him, it was there.

Ladybug must have had the same idea. He landed next to her upon the tower and grinned. "Evening, my lady."

"Nice of you to join me, kitty." Ladybug smiled back at him. "I thought I saw him a moment ago, but he disappeared in a flash of light."

"I hear that's what he does best." Chat replied.

"Yeah," Ladybug frowned. "And freezing people."

There was a flash of blue light down in the park below, and then another one halfway up the tower. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir leaned over the edge to see.

"Sure moves fast." Chat said.

There was a soft 'poof' from behind them, and the heroes both spun around to see a man standing there in a full blue bodysuit. His head was covered by a large hood and an elaborate cape of colors draped behind him. He studied his nails as if he was bored. "It's called teleportation."

Chat Noir stepped a foot out in front of Ladybug protectively. "Who are you? Are you the one freezing people all over Paris?"

"Call me, hm." He paused for a moment. "Call me Freeze then, since that's what you think I'm doing."

Both Chat Noir and Ladybug jumped forward to attack, but Freeze teleported up on top of the fence. Chat bounded up to go after him, but Freeze teleported again. Ladybug tried to strike at him with her yo-yo, but even then Freeze was too quick.

There was only a flicker of purple, but Chat saw the familiar glow of a butterfly silhouette around Freeze's face. He pulled out his staff and started the trace. As he did so, he missed Freeze jolting past him and straight into Ladybug.

Chat heard Ladybug's grunt in pain and turned to see if she was okay. It was then he saw her fly backwards off the edge of the tower.

"Ladybug!" He pounced after her and nearly dropped his staff in his panic. He fell halfway down before he saw her flick her yo-yo up and swing down to the ground below the tower. Chat looked twice to make sure she landed, and then he extended his staff into the tower to guide himself down to the ground. He landed next to Ladybug, who gripped her stomach and winced.

"My lady!" Chat put his arm around her. "Are you alright?!"

Ladybug nodded. "That was a close one."

"Hello!" Freeze appeared in front of them with a soft 'poof', and then vanished a moment later, only to appear a few feet away. "Goodbye!"

The heroes chased him out of the park and down the streets of Paris. Chat kept looking over his shoulder at Ladybug. She seemed alright, but he could tell she was going slower than normal. At this rate, they'd never catch him.

"He's too fast!" Chat Noir finally said.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Ladybug grumbled back.

Chat Noir couldn't resist. He grinned as he pounced off a building to get closer to her. "You look absolutely radiant in the sunset."

"Chat!" Ladybug shoved his shoulder with a groan.

He laughed and went back to chasing Freeze. They chased him up and down the streets of Paris until even Chat had to admit he was getting exhausted. He didn't think it was possible to get so tired at Chat Noir, especially since they weren't fighting. Ladybug was starting to look like she might collapse any second. He noticed she would keep grabbing her stomach when she thought he wasn't looking.

"I don't think this is working." Chat finally spoke up.

"You're right." Ladybug slowed down and bent forward with her hands on her knees. "He's too fast."

"Need some help?"

Chat turned to see Volpina, who casually leaned up against a building as if she'd been waiting there all this time. His eyes widened at the sight of her. Carlotta hadn't seemed all that interested in the news report before. Guess she changed her mind.

"Nice of you to finally high tail it over here." Chat grinned.

"Just waiting to see if you were going to do your job today or if I needed to help." Volpina pushed herself off the wall and walked over towards Chat Noir.

Ladybug came over to them. "We can't seem to catch him. He's too fast."

Volpina's eyes lit up. "Ah, need someone quick then?"

"Swift as a fox, perhaps?" Chat Noir couldn't resist. He stifled a laugh as he heard Ladybug groan.

"He's teleporting all over Paris." Ladybug said.

"Teleporting?" Volpina asked. Her voice seemed a little higher than normal, Chat noticed.

He nodded. "And freezing people, while he's at it. Guess the-"

"You lot are so slow it's becoming boring!" A loud voice echoed down from the building above them.

All three heroes turned to look up at Freeze, who was standing on the roof's edge with his arms crossed. Chat was about to say something when he felt a slight vibration from his staff. He glanced down and stared at the screen. It flashed green, and for a moment he forgot all about Freeze.

"LB!" He shouted as the 'Source Found' blinked on his screen. "I've got it!"

She didn't say anything. He glanced up to look at her, and found she was staring at Volpina with a strange look on her face. Fear? Confusion? He wasn't sure. He turned to look at Volpina and instantly knew something was wrong. The normally tanned fox hero was pale and wobbled slightly in her stance. Her eyes were aimed up at Freeze, but she didn't seem to be focused. Chat knew Freeze was kinda fast and annoying, but he didn't think the akumatized victim was worth the look of pure horror that Volpina held. He looked between Freeze Ladybug and Volpina a few more times before Volpina finally spoke up. Her voice was soft, and if it wasn't for his cat-like hearing, Char doubted he would have heard her at all.

"Blu Pavone?"


	10. Blue Lips

**A/N: FYI, check out my tumblr akirhenwrites for information on this fic. I'll keep it posted with update information.**

 **Thanks! XD**

* * *

"What?" Chat Noir asked.

Ladybug looked up at Freeze, then back at Volpina. It was her expression that convinced her. Volpina looked like she'd seen a ghost. Ladybug had no idea how it was happening, but if Volpina recognized him, then it had to be true.

"I thought he was dead?" Ladybug didn't know what sort of trick this was, but she knew Hawkmoth was behind it. It was exactly the sort of thing he would do to try and get their miraculous.

Volpina didn't answer. One moment she was on the ground with them, and then Ladybug saw her fists tighten and she was gone. A gust of wind blew past Ladybug, and she lifted her arms to cover her face. When she lowered her arms, Volpina was gone. She looked up to see Freeze disappear just as a streak of orange darted where he used to be. The orange flash darted to where Freeze had teleported only to reach him just as he vanished again. It chased him over and over, and the two seemed to shift all over the rooftops.

Chat Noir spun in a full circle as he watched the orange and blue dancing above them. "What am I missing here, LB?"

"No time, Chat." Ladybug took a step forward, then looked back over her shoulder at him. "Keep tracking Hawkmoth!"

"Oh! Wait!" Chat pulled up his staff just as Ladybug threw her yo-yo and pulled up on top of the buildings.

Ladybug crouched on the edge of the roof and watched as Freeze – or Blu Pavone – kept appearing and disappearing all around. Her grip tightened around her yo-yo until he appeared close enough to her, and then she threw it towards him. It managed to catch him off guard and wrapped around his ankle. She yanked it back and caused him to fall off to the side.

"Don't!" Volpina shouted. She came to a stop by his side, but her anger was directed at Ladybug. "Leave him alone!"

"He's not who you think he is!" Ladybug yelled back.

"That's not what I mean!" Volpina replied. Her eyes widened as Ladybug felt a chill behind her.

Ladybug darted off to the side just as a blast of ice cold particles hit where she'd been only moments before.

"Focus on me, Will." Volpina growled. "Forget them."

"I can help." Ladybug jumped up and started to run towards Blu Pavone. As she got closer, he vanished. Before she could stop, she felt something heavy slam into her back and she tumbled forward off the roof.

"Gotcha, my lady." Chat Noir pounced up and caught her in midair. His staff branched down and pushed them up onto the roof. Both of them turned to Blu Pavone and got into a fighting stance.

"Stay out of this." Volpina dashed forward. A streak of orange was all Chat and Ladybug could make out as the fox heroine trailed after Pavone.

Ladybug watched them carefully, and when she found her moment again, she threw her yo-yo forward and dashed towards Blu Pavone.

Pavone didn't look pleased. He turned and suddenly Ladybug found herself flying backwards into a chimney. Her back hit so hard the wind was knocked out of her.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir yelled.

"That was your last warning." Blu Pavone said. He vanished just as Volpina wrapped her arms around him, and then stumbled forward as he was gone.

Volpina growled, and sped off towards Pavone once more.

Chat tightened his grip on his staff, but when he heard Ladybug groan he dropped all desire to fight. He turned and ran over to her side. "My lady, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Chat." Ladybug said as she got up to her feet. "Keep tracking Hawkmoth."

"Oh, but Ladybug-"

She didn't stick around to hear him finish, and already jumped right back in the chase. This time she decided to set up a trap instead of going directly after him. Ladybug swung around the rooftops with her yo-yo until the string weaved into a large net. It wasn't until she heard the soft 'poof' behind her that she realized that wasn't the most brilliant plan.

"Lookout!"

Ladybug heard Volpina's warning after she was hit. She tried to dodge off to the side, but Blu's freezing blast hit her leg and pinned her to the spot. Ladybug looked up at him, then down at her leg. She frantically tried to pull her foot free, but the ice was creeping up her leg too fast. Unsure of what else to do, she quickly threw her yo-yo up into the air and shouted out "Lucky charm!"

Three things happened at once.

First, Volpina arrived at Ladybug's side.

Second, Chat Noir started running towards Ladybug, and shouted her name.

Third, a red polka-dotted icepick dropped down from the sky into Ladybugs hand.

Then everything went wrong.

* * *

Ladybug was in trouble.

That was the only thought going through Chat Noir's head. He didn't even know he'd started running towards her until he was halfway there. He didn't even realize he dropped his staff.

Ladybug was in trouble.

Volpina was next to Ladybug, and they were both trying to break the ice with the icepick. The ice was already up to Ladybug's waist. If she was frozen, they'd be in big trouble. Chat Noir couldn't purify the akuma. He needed her.

Ladybug was in trouble.

He was just a few steps away from them when he saw Ladybug look up at him. Her eyes were filled with panic and terror. She reached her hand out towards him as the ice crept up her chest and froze her arm outstretched towards him.

"Chat!" She cried out to him.

Chat felt an intense pain in his shoulder as the ice around Ladybug shattered. She felt down to the floor; her hand clutched her chest as she coughed. He tried to take another step towards her, but the pain in his shoulder intensified. Ladybug slumped down, but managed to look up and meet his eyes. She still held that same terror in her gaze and he couldn't understand why.

He felt himself falling down. It was like his legs had just given out from under him and he slumped to his knees. His hand reached up to his shoulder only to find a long ice crystal poking through him. It wasn't there a moment ago, he thought. He looked down to find the ice shard buried deep into his shoulder. Blood tricked down from his torn suit and he started to feel light headed. He heard the familiar 'poof' behind him. His arm was jerked upward and Chat howled in pain as the shard shifted under his stretched skin.

He saw Volpina grab Ladybug, and in a flash of orange they were gone.

That was good, he thought as he felt fingers wrap around his hand. At least she was safe. At least she wouldn't have to see whatever was about to happen to him.

Somewhere off in the distance, he heard her cry his name. It broke his heart to hear her screaming in such a blood curdling way. There was a soft flash of light as he felt his ring jerked off his finger. Ladybug's yells continued to echo in his head as he fell forward and rolled off the side of the building.

It's okay, he thought.

Ladybug was safe.


	11. Man of a Thousand Faces

Volpina managed to grab onto Chat Noir as he tumbled off the building. She was fast, but this was pushing even her limits. If she'd been even a heartbeat later, he would have fallen to his death. She caught him and brought them both down to the ground softly.

She heard Blu Pavone teleport somewhere and knew he would be searching for her. She growled to herself as she brought Chat towards a statue for cover. She set him down on the ground and then did a double take as she realized he'd de-transformed.

"A-Adrien?" Volpina asked.

The blond boy was badly hurt. A long icicle protruded from his shoulder and Volpina couldn't tell how deep it went. She was impressed he was still conscious, especially without his powers. He was bleeding quite heavily and needed medical attention. He looked so small and helpless. It wasn't at all the same impression she had when he was Chat Noir.

"Heh, yeah." Adrien managed to open his eyes to look up at her. He groaned as his fingers dabbled on the ice shard. "Did Ladybug see?"

Volpina shook her head.

"Good." Adrien slumped down with a sigh. "He…he has my ring. My Miraculous. Plagg…"

"Rest here." Volpina jumped up and headed back off towards Ladybug.

If Blu Pavone had Chat's Miraculous, they were in serious trouble. As it was, Volpina didn't know how to stop him. Blu Pavone died, and this thing wasn't him. It couldn't be him. But because it looked like him, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop him. That meant Ladybug would have to, somehow. But first Volpina needed to pin him down and find out who he was. If Hawkmoth was as powerful as they said, maybe it was possible that Pavone was still alive. Maybe he somehow brought him back.

Of course, the most likely scenario was that Pavone's Miraculous was given to someone new. Someone that Hawkmoth controlled. That meant that his powers were strong, and combined with Chat Noir's ring, he was unstoppable.

"Where's Chat?!" Ladybug clutched her chest. She could barely stand and all her energy seemed to be focused on screaming out for her partner.

"He's fine," Volpina replied. She placed a hand on Ladybug's shoulder. "Trust me. He's alright. I put him somewhere safe."

"Chat!" Ladybug yelled out.

"Not now! We need to-" Volpina dashed forward and grabbed Ladybug just as Pavone appeared behind them. She pulled Ladybug around a chimney as a blast of cold air blew past them.

"He has Chat's Miraculous," Volpina told Ladybug.

Ladybug felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. He had Chat's Miraculous. Chat wasn't able to transform. Chat wasn't able to help. Chat was hurt.

"I can probably get it back," Volpina told her. "But it's going to take God-like powers to stop him."

Ladybug looked over at Volpina and heard the soft beeping in her ear. She didn't have much time left. "Chat…"

"Is alright." Volpina hardened her eyes. "I need your help. If I can get the ring, can you finish this?"

Ladybug took in a deep breath and bit her lip. Chat needed her to be strong. She nodded.

Volpina grabbed Ladybug and pulled her forward as the chimney they were up against exploded with shards of ice. Once they were clear of the attack, Ladybug turned and slid down the side of the roof as Volpina darted back towards Blu Pavone. She flinched as the pain in her leg and body came to the forefront of her mind. She quickly pushed it away. She could be in pain later. Right now, Chat needed her to be strong. Ladybug heard another beep from her Miraculous as she jumped into place.

Streaks of orange and blue blazed above her head and all around the rooftops. Ladybug wasn't sure how this was going to work, but she had to trust Volpina.

As Ladybug's earring beeped again, she heard a soft flute sound and a bright orange light filled the sky. A moment later, she saw Pavone rise up in the air, encased in an orange bubble. It reminded her of that time Chat and her were trapped in a bubble.

Poor Chat…

"Now!" Volpina skidded down the roof towards Ladybug and tossed a silver ring towards her. "The force field won't hold long!"

Ladybug nodded and slipped the ring onto her finger.

And her world went black.

* * *

Volpina looked away as Ladybug started to glow. It was a soft red radiance at first, and then she started to glow brighter and brighter until Volpina couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. The red light grew so intense that even with her eyes closed, Volpina thought she might go blind.

And then it vanished. She blinked several times as her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness. She panicked for a moment that she had gone blind, until she saw the orange light from Pavone's enclosure.

Above her was Ladybug, only she was pure white. Her hair, outfit, everything was pure white. She was surrounded by a glowing red hue. Her blank white eyes were pointed towards Blu Pavone with a terrifying glare that even gave Volpina the shivers.

All Volpina could do was stare up at Ladybug as she floated there. Even Pavone was mesmerized by her. Her lips parted and she uttered a single word that seemed to shake the very world around them.

"RUN."

Volpina looked up at Pavone, who's pushed back against the bubble. He was shouting something, but Volpina couldn't tell. His eyes were wide and his fists pounded on the bubble wall behind his back. She hesitated for a moment, but then Ladybug started to glow once more.

She pounced down off the buildings and raced towards the statue where Adrien leaned up against. She pulled the wounded boy around the statue's base. He yelped out in pain, but she didn't let go until they were on the other side. Then she grabbed his head and shoved his face into her shoulder.

"Close your eyes!" she said as she buried her face down in his hair.

In the shadow of the statue, with their eyes covered and buried, the light was so intense that Volpina felt her head start to spin. The red glow permeated into her skull. She heard Adrien moan and pulled him into a tighter hold. They both stayed there like that, curled together as they struggled against the brilliance, until finally it started to recede.

"Stay here." Volpina loosened her grip on Adrien, then slowly opened her eyes. This time she was able to adjust to the light with no problem. Either she went fully blind and was hallucinating or it was all just…magic.

She looked around the statue and saw Ladybug floating downwards. Volpina got up and ran over to Ladybug and caught her just before she hit the ground. Ladybug's head curled into Volpina with a heavy sigh.

"What…what happened?" Ladybug groaned.

"It's alright," Volpina told her. She looked up at the sky, but Pavone was nowhere to be seen. What exactly had happened? Volpina swallowed hard. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. Volpina carried her back towards the statue, but made sure they remained opposite Adrien.

"Chat?" Ladybug asked. "Chat? Is he okay? Where's Chat?"

"I'm here, my lady," Adrien called out once they were close enough. He remained hidden, and Volpina took that as a hint that he wanted to remain as such.

"I have your ring," Ladybug said weakly as she pulled the ring off her finger.

Volpina took it from her. "Let's get you home, Ladybug."

"I'm okay." Ladybug rolled her head forward and pulled her legs free from Volpina. She faltered as her feet touched the ground, but a moment later she stood up unassisted. "I'm okay."

"I can take you," Volpina said. "You look weak still."

"I'm okay," Ladybug replied and stood up straight. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Adrien's voice came from behind the statue.

Ladybug took a step towards the voice, then paused. She placed a hand on the statue and closed her eyes. "Don't worry about me, Chat. Are you okay?"

"Just a cat scratch," he replied with a grin in his voice.

She smiled, but didn't say anything more. A moment later, she tossed her yo-yo off towards the buildings and flew into the city.

Volpina walked around the statue and picked Adrien up. "We need to get you some medical attention." She put his ring into his hand.

As they dashed into the city, Adrien spoke up nervously. "You're the first person to know my identity."

"Don't worry," Volpina told him. "I'll keep your secret."

"It's not that." Adrien's voice lowered. "I just wanted it to be her."


	12. You've got time

A knock at her bedroom door startled Carlotta from her homework. She slowly got up from her desk and crossed over to the door. Part of her wondered if it was Marinette. She hadn't seen the girl all day and was starting to wonder if she did something wrong the other day when she went to the park with Marinette and her friends.

"Carlotta?" Adrien lifted his head up as she opened the door. His arm was held in a sling and his shoulder was all wrapped up.

"H-hey," Carlotta replied. She was surprised to see him. Two nights ago, she dropped him off in front of the hospital, and when she didn't hear from him, she assumed he was still recovering. After a wound like that, she figured he'd be down for weeks. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Adrien's voice was strained. "Hey, uh, listen. About the other night, how you know who I am and all-"

"Don't worry about it," she assured him. "I promise your secret is safe with me."

"Not just that, though." Adrien's face flushed and he glanced over towards Marinette's door. He paused for a moment and then lowered his voice. "I…I wanted to thank you. For helping us. For saving me. For saving Ladybug."

"I really didn't do much," Carlotta responded.

"Yeah, you did. And I-" Adrien cut himself off as the door to Marinette's room opened.

Both Carlotta and Adrien turned to look as a half-dazed Marinette stumbled out of her room. She looked like she was headed somewhere, but froze once she saw them.

"Hey, Marinette." Adrien waved with his good arm.

"A-A-Adrien!" Marinette stuttered. Her eyes flicked to his damaged arm. "What happened?!"

His cheeks reddened as he attempted a smile. "Oh, well, you know. That akuma attack the other night. I just got, well, scared and clumsy, and that's never a good combination."

Marinette's eyes widened and her hands clasped over her mouth. "But that's not…"

Carlotta cleared her throat. "Adrien, do you want to, um…"

"Right!" Adrien turned back to her as he understood. "Sorry, Marinette. Carlotta and I were just heading out. Maybe we can catch you later?"

"But-but-but!" Marinette glanced between Carlotta and Adrien.

"Save me a dance at the Masquerade." Adrien winked at her. "You're still going, right?"

"But you're hurt!" Marinette blurted out a little too loud.

Adrien laughed. "I'm fine. Really. Just a cat scratch."

Before Marinette could say anything else, Carlotta quickly grabbed Adrien by his good arm and pulled him towards the door. She called out a quick goodbye over her shoulder as they left.

* * *

Marinette stood in the now empty hallway with her jaw dropped halfway down to her knees. Adrien was hurt. He was HURT. His arm was in a sling and it was from the akuma attack. It was all because Ladybug didn't stop Freeze or Pavone or whoever it was in time. It was Ladybug's fault. It was HER fault.

She hurt Adrien.

Her legs wobbled and she dropped down to her knees. Tikki flew out from inside her room and hovered in front of her.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Tikki asked.

"I-He…but I…I mean…" Marinette couldn't find a way to form words. It felt like every part of her was gone and she was just an empty shell.

"Oh Marinette, I'm sure it's not a date," Tikki said. "After all, he said to-"

"What?" Marinette snapped her head up and blinked at the kwami. Her heart skipped a beat, which at least was a good sign that it was still pumping. "Date?"

"With Carlotta?" Tikki looked over at the door then back at Marinette. "Maybe they just had to talk about something else."

"A date?" Marinette squeaked. She'd been such an idiot! Of course Adrien liked her; he wasn't able to stop looking at her the other day. And now he was visiting her and they were going out together. Oh, stupid Marinette, of course it was a date!

She groaned and flopped backwards on the floor. "Oh, I can't believe it."

"Oh, Marinette, cheer up," Tikki said. "I said it probably wasn't a date."

"You know it is." Marinette put her arm over her eyes. "It's not fair."

"Marinette…"

Marinette sat up and propped her arm up on her bent knee. "You know the worst part? I can't even be mad at her. Carlotta needs friends. She's nice and shy. And it's not like I ever said Adrien was off limits. Plus, the way he looked at her." She groaned. "He'll never look at me that way."

Tikki smiled. "Well, it's not the end of the world."

Marinette pictured Carlotta and Adrien out on their date. They were probably laughing and eating pizza and holding each other's hand, which, she realized, would be difficult with his sling. She dropped her head down. The thought of Adrien dating Carlotta stung, but it wasn't nearly as painful as the fact she got him hurt. How many others had been injured because of Ladybug?

"His arm was in a sling, Tikki," Marinette said. "Because of Ladybug."

"Not because of Ladybug!" Tikki argued. "Ladybug probably saved his life! And the lives of many others! Could you imagine how things would have been if you hadn't stopped Blu Pavone?"

Marinette frowned. It didn't matter how many she saved; she still failed if she hurt Adrien in the tiniest way. Not to mention, she didn't even know HOW she stopped Blu Pavone. Or if she even did. She didn't remember any of it. She'd spent the last couple of days trying to remember, and panicking over Chat Noir. He may have said he was alright, but she hadn't seen him since. That wasn't entirely reassuring.

But of course, none of that really stayed in her mind long now. All she could think about was how Adrien was hurt.

"I'm the worst Ladybug ever. First Chat Noir, now Adrien. Who else got hurt?"


	13. The Call

It didn't matter how painful it would be, he was going to go out on patrol tonight. Adrien grit his teeth. It was really going to hurt, too, but he couldn't let his enemies think he was wounded. And he certainly didn't want his Lady to protect Paris on her own.

"Plagg! Transform me!" Adrien gasped lightly at the pain as he stretched his arm out. The pain started to fade as the transformation light passed over him.

Chat Noir rubbed his sore shoulder. It hurt, but it wasn't nearly as bad as when he was Adrien. He nodded to himself and hurried out the window towards his usual meeting spot.

Ladybug was already there waiting for him. He couldn't help but notice her sullen expression, and when he got closer, she seemed surprised to see him.

"Chat! You're okay!" she cried.

"Of course, my Lady!" He casually picked up his tail and spun it around as he sauntered towards her. "I'm always-oh!" He clamped his jaw down as a wave of pain raced through his body, then quickly was forgotten as he struggled to comprehend what just happened.

Ladybug had rushed over to him and threw her arms around him. She was hugging him. Ladybug was hugging him!

Chat relaxed as best he could despite the pain and wrapped his arms around her. She felt so soft and small. It was hard to imagine this was the creature that saved Paris countless times. The frail little one, who fit so perfectly in his arms, started to shake. Chat pulled back to find that she was crying.

"My lady, don't cry." He touched her cheek and brushed away a tear. It took everything he had to keep his bad arm still. "I told you it was nothing. I told Volpina to tell you I was okay."

Ladybug nodded and took a step back, much to Chat's disappointment. "I know, and she did, but Chat…I was so worried. I was scared I'd lost you."

He smiled at her and pushed her hair out of her eyes. He didn't want to stop touching her. "Can't get rid of me that easily, bugaboo."

She gave him half a smile, and then stepped back and turned to walk off. Unable to stop himself, Chat Noir reached out, grabbed Ladybug's hand, and pulled her gently back towards him. His mind raced with an excuse, and all he could think about was how gracefully she moved.

"Do you dance, my Lady?"

Ladybug frowned playfully and it filled Chat's heart with glee. It was the first sign she'd given him that she was okay.

"No," she replied flatly, but it was obvious she was trying not to smile.

This only encouraged Chat Noir. He spun them around and put his bad arm around her back. "I happen to know of a masquerade coming up. It would be the purr-fect place for us to dance together, while still keeping our identities secret."

"Is that right?" Ladybug's voice hinted at sarcasm. "Too bad I don't dance."

"I could show you how," he offered. He pulled her in close to him and held her hand out to the side as if he was about to dance.

She laughed and poked his nose as she pushed free of him. It was bittersweet, since he was glad to hear her laugh again. Still, it hurt that she always thought of his advances as jokes. He may have only been offering a simple dance, but he wanted so much more. It would have been nice to go out with her in public somewhere. He wanted to get to know her. The real her.

He watched as she moved over towards the edge of the rooftop and stared out over the city. The lights from the city seemed to make her hair glow.

"Ladybug," Chat asked softly. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, but he wasn't convinced. Even though she managed to laugh, she didn't seem like herself.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

"I'm fine, Chat. Don't worry about me." Ladybug shrugged. "I was worried about you, that's all."

He thought about that for a minute and decided he didn't buy it. She knew he was alright now, and yet she still seemed reserved. He decided she didn't want to talk about it so he wouldn't push it.

"So…" Chat Noir rocked back on his heels. "What was it like?"

"Huh?" Ladybug looked over at him.

He touched his ring as he swayed forward onto his toes. "Having both of them. Your earrings and my ring."

She lowered her head, but didn't turn away from him. "Oh. I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I don't remember. I know you got hurt and then…then…I just don't," she trailed off. Her eyes were unfocused, pointing out towards the city.

He hated seeing her like this. She seemed so empty and distant. He wanted to hug her and make her feel joy and love and happiness. He decided to try changing the subject again.

"Ladybug?" He cautiously approached her side. "Do you ever wish you knew who I was?"

She sighed. "Chat, we talked about this…"

"You wouldn't have been worried about me if you knew who I was. You could have just called," he suggested. "And Volpina didn't seem to have any hesitations."

"No," she replied bluntly.

"Aren't you even the littlest bit curious?" Chat rubbed his shoulder against her.

She crinkled her nose and took a step away from him. "Don't."

"What?"

Ladybug turned away from him and hugged herself. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but she'd already pushed him away. He didn't want to approach her if she didn't want him to.

"Chat," Ladybug finally spoke up. "I just can't. There are things about me, about my real life…you wouldn't like me and then-"

Chat Noir laughed so hard and loud that he saw her jump in surprise, but he couldn't help himself. HIM not like HER?! What kind of joke was that!? He howled in laughter as he bent forward and clutched his stomach.

She frowned and put a hand on her hip. "What's so funny?"

He laughed a bit more and struggled to catch his breath enough to speak. "Oh, my lady. My Ladybug!" he chuckled as he straightened up and put a hand on her shoulder. He grinned madly as her eyes met his. She looked absolutely radiant

"Ladybug." Chat Noir took her other shoulder with his bad hand and brought his forehead to hers. She didn't push him away. Whether she was in shock or still feeling bad that he'd gotten hurt, he didn't know. He didn't care. If she'd let him get this close, then maybe she could hear him say how he felt. After all, if that's why she was worried about him knowing her identity, he could easily reassure her.

"My lady, no matter who you are, no matter what is going on in your life, I will always love-"

He was cut off as his staff started to beep. This seemed to snap Ladybug out of it, and she stepped backwards. Chat's hands fell away from her shoulders as he pulled out his staff and opened it.

"An akuma?" Ladybug asked. Her voice was firm and strictly business.

"No." Chat stared at the screen. "It's…it's Hawkmoth!"

"What?" Ladybug gasped.

"I…I forgot! I didn't get to tell you! The trace worked," Chat explained as he pulled the map up and zeroed in on the traces location. "It only works when he's transformed, and it looks like he is now. And he's at the park over there!" Chat looked up and pointed off in the direction of the trace.

"Let's go!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo off in the direction and flew off.

Chat sunk into himself. He'd almost told her. After years of trying, he finally had a perfect chance and now, once again, Hawkmoth ruined everything. He sighed and took off after Ladybug.

The park was completely empty when they arrived. Ladybug triple checked and nothing larger than a bird was in the area. No Hawkmoth. There were no butterflies, either. She glanced over her shoulder at Chat, who stared at his staff with a frown.

"Where'd he go?" Ladybug asked.

"I don't know," Chat groaned. "He must have transformed back. The trace is blank."

She grumbled to herself and looked back around the park. He'd been here, just moments ago. They'd just missed him. They'd been trying to find him for years and now they were so close! She hated not knowing who Hawkmoth was.

A flutter caught her eye and Ladybug walked over to a nearby park bench. On it was a piece of paper, and when she picked it up, she saw it was an advertisement. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized it was for the masquerade she was planning on attending at Alya's school. In the corner was a small scribble that read: "The Miraculouses will be here."

"What?" Chat Noir walked over towards her.

Ladybug handed the paper to him and remembered he'd mentioned a masquerade earlier. Was he going to the same one as her?

"Looks like we will be going after all, kitty." She smiled at him. It wasn't a guarantee that Hawkmoth will be there, but it was a good guess.

Chat slid over to her side, much closer than she thought he needed to. "Guess I'll be saving you a dance then, my Lady."

She felt infinitely better. All the stress of not knowing what happened with both Miraculous and fear over losing Chat seemed to melt away. There was still a small twinge of regret that she'd gotten Adrien hurt, but if she could stop Hawkmoth, then he'd never get hurt again.

Ladybug tapped his nose. "We'll see, kitty."

His face brightened as he met her gaze. "Great!"


	14. The Party

Marinette felt like a princess in her ball gown. It was long and black with just enough glitter to add a soft sparkle. Even though it was supposed to be based off of Chat Noir, it looked rather great. With her black mask, she pulled off the look almost as good as he did. She beamed with pride as the two girls wearing her designs accompanied her into the grand ballroom. Alya wore her red Ladybug dress while Carlotta wore an orange and black fox-themed outfit. The three of them, with their masks, walked slowly along the floor towards the large table in the centre.

Marinette thought Carlotta was hitting it a bit on the nose being dressed like Volpina, but since she wasn't supposed to know she couldn't say anything. At least making a fox dress was fun. Carlotta had come up with an incredible drop waist for it that looked stunning on her. Alya's Ladybug dress was flattering on her, too. Of course, Marinette was partial to the Ladybug look.

The ballroom was filled with the masquerade patrons. It was hard not to be impressed with the way everyone else looked. Some were far more dressed up than others. She spotted the Mayor, but his mask was simple and easy to see beneath. There were several people that she didn't recognize and wasn't sure if she knew them or not. Marinette smiled to herself. She supposed that was the magic of a masquerade.

"Look! They have snacks!" Alya pointed over towards a long banquet table covered in small hors d'oeuvres. She quickly dug in her purse and pulled out her phone to start recording.

"Wow." A voice came from behind them and the three girls turned to find Adrien in a full black suit. His red spotted mask was pushed up onto his hair so his face was completely visible. His arm was still in a sling, but he seemed to be moving it more than the other day. A large smile crossed his face. "You girls look amazing!"

"Aw, so you recognized us?" Alya pouted. "I was hoping to fool Nino and let him think a random hot girl was into him."

"Well…" Adrien looked at Carlotta for a second. It was a motion that Marinette saw all too perfectly. Adrien quickly looked back at Alya and gestured to her as he tilted his head. "Your phone is a dead giveaway."

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek. Adrien was interested in Carlotta. Why was that so hard to comprehend?

But his eyes turned to Marinette and she swore she saw his face redden.

"I love your dress, Marinette," he said with a grin. "It reminds me of Chat Noir."

She gave him a small smile, then swayed back and forth to let the dress twirl a little. "That was the point."

He took a step towards her and held out his good hand. "Care to dance?"

"M-m-me?" Marinette blushed. She looked over at Alya and Carlotta. "You want to dance with me?"

"What can I say?" Adrien's grin widened. "You have great taste in clothes."

* * *

Adrien felt his heart skip a beat as he walked hand-in-hand with Marinette onto the dance floor. Normally he hated events like this, but he'd never been to one with friends before. Now he couldn't image how such a thing could be dull.

He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, so he used his good arm to hold her hand instead of holding onto her waist. It surprised him when she placed her other hand on his hip. She moved with such grace, he found it hard to believe she hadn't been to every grand ball event in the past. Even he didn't move as well as she did, and he had been forced to take lessons.

Now that he thought about it, he knew nothing about her. She was someone he called a friend, but he couldn't remember a time they had a conversation alone since…well, since they were kids together back in school.

"You're really good at this," he said with a smile.

She blushed back at him. "Th-thank you."

"You know," Adrien said. "We never really got a chance to talk after we left school. Even though we spent time together because of Nino and Alya, I don't think I ever had the chance to get to know you."

"Oh, well, there's not much to know." Marinette looked down at the floor as they danced to the upbeat waltz music.

Even though he was only holding onto her hand, he could feel her whole body moving in motion with the music. It was fascinating to him. How did he never notice something like this before? Her hair swayed gently across her back as they moved. Her eyes, though they were avoiding his, were big and blue. They reminded him of Ladybug's.

"Of course there is!" Adrien laughed. "I mean, I didn't even know your favourite superhero until tonight."

"Huh?" Marinette looked up at him.

Adrien nodded down at her dress. "Chat Noir."

He could have sworn he saw her stick out her tongue for a second.

"I guess he's alright," she said in a slightly annoyed tone. "He's a bit of a show off, and a flirt. Not my favourite by a long shot. He tends to get himself hurt."

Adrien flinched. He hoped she didn't notice. "Well, I got myself hurt, too."

"What?!" Marinette shook her head furiously, which caused her hair to sway in a way that caught the light just perfectly. "No! That wasn't your fault! That was Ladybug's! She was supposed to save you! She was supposed to stop the akuma before anyone got hurt!"

"Ladybug?" Adrien blinked at her.

"I-she…yeah." Marinette's face went red and she quickly looked away.

Adrien laughed. "It's not Ladybug's fault. Not by any stretch of the imagination."

When she didn't say anything, Adrien felt his heart drop. Marinette thought his injury was because of Ladybug. Did others think that? It pained him to think that people would say such horrible things about his lady.

"Ladybug is a hero," Adrien said softly. "She protects us and helps everyone she can. She's kind and selfless, and risks her life for people she doesn't even know."

Marinette lifted her head to meet his gaze once more. He swore her eyes shimmered with the threat of tears.

"Ladybug is amazing," he continued. "And never in a million years will I blame her for anything bad. She's never hurt anyone, and I only got hurt because of my own fault. If anything, she saved my life."

She stared at him, mouth agape, in silence as they danced. He was worried that he said something to upset her. It was possible, he supposed. He'd thought he understood her feelings towards Chat Noir based solely on her outfit, and he'd been wrong.

After a few more steps, she finally opened her mouth to speak. "Adrien, I-"

"Hey, Marinette?" Carlotta walked up towards the couple.

Adrien cursed internally. He really wanted to know what Marinette was going to say.

"Carlotta," Marinette said with a bit of a surprise. She slowed the dance to a stop and took her hands away from Adrien. He felt a small twinge of sadness as she did so, but he didn't know why. "What's up?"

"Um," Carlotta looked between the two of them, almost ashamed. "Alya said she needed your help with a banner or something like that?"

The trio looked off in the distance behind Carlotta. Alya was standing on a ladder behind the DJ table with a string of lights and a banner. She waved when she saw them look over at her.

"Oh." Marinette frowned. She licked her lips, then picked up her dress with her hand. "Okay."

After Marinette was far enough away, Carlotta turned back to Adrien. "Care to dance?" she asked him.

Adrien shrugged. "Sure." He took her hand, as he had Marinette's before, and the pair started to move in time to the music.

It felt different. He wasn't sure how to explain it. Carlotta wasn't a bad dancer, she knew how to keep rhythm, but she just didn't fit his pattern perfectly. In fact, he didn't even notice how well Marinette had matched him until this moment. With Marinette, it was as simple as breathing. He barely knew her, and yet it had felt like they could read each other's minds and predict where they'd go. With Carlotta, it felt like a dance partner he had to concentrate on or he'd misstep.

Which was strange, because Carlotta and him were the superheroes. If anyone should be in sync, it was them.

"Hawkmoth is here," Adrien said.

"Really?!" Carlotta gasped.

He nodded. "Ladybug and I found evidence that he would be here. I was tracking him before."

"Can you still track him?" she asked.

Again, he nodded.

"Then what are you doing?!" She poked him in his good shoulder. "Go transform and see if he's here!"

"Oh." Adrien slowed to a stop. It was such an obvious thing, he was a little upset at himself for not thinking about it. "Yeah. Okay."

Carlotta grinned at him. "I'll cover you. Find me if he's here."

Adrien nodded and ran off.


	15. The Calculation

The music was soft. The lights were low. She hadn't even realized how much moments like this bothered her until they happened. Couples all around her swayed together in time to the music. Carlotta looked down at the ground. It wasn't fair.

The other night…she was sure it wasn't Blu Pavone. It couldn't have been. William was dead. And yet, he was there. She saw him. She helped destroy him. It was the right thing to do, but in moments like this she couldn't help but wish for a different outcome.

It wasn't very long before Adrien came running back to the dance floor. She found herself sighing in relief as he approached her.

"He's here," Adrien said. "I'll need your help."

Carlotta nodded and followed him off the dance floor.

* * *

Marinette felt her heart break as she saw Adrien take Carlotta by the hand and lead her off the floor. Of course. She'd been a fool to think she'd have a chance with him. He was obviously in love with the Italian girl.

She took in several sharp breathes. She wasn't going to cry. Not here, not like this, and especially not over Adrien. Carlotta was good for him. He deserved her.

"Marinette?" Alya called her from somewhere nearby.

Her tears betrayed her, and Marinette ran out of the room. She tried to wipe them away as they fell, but it was useless. She was practically sobbing as she raced out into the entry hallway. She stumbled as she ran and ended up colliding into someone as she turned towards the building's exit.

"S-sorry," she mumbled as she looked up to see who she'd practically plowed into. Marinette gasped as she saw her fashion idol standing tall in front of her.

Gabriel Agreste straightened his tie with a slight frown.

"Mr. Agreste!" Marinette gasped. It took her a moment to remember what exactly was going on. Her heart still ached for Adrien, but she managed to recall this was a school function. "But-but…why are you here?"

He cleared his throat. "I was asked to attend for the sake of future interns." He didn't seem too pleased about it.

His eyes wandered over her. She felt incredibly intimidated. His eyes washed over her crying mess of a face and down to her dress.

"That's quite a gown, there." He nodded ever so slightly to her.

"Eh, erm, I…thank you," Marinette stuttered.

He nodded again, this time with a little more satisfaction. "It reminds me of Chat Noir."

Marinette got a little excited. "That's what I was-"

There was a loud bang as the door to the unused hall swung open and slammed against a small decorative table.

"Did someone say my name?" Chat Noir laughed as he burst into the room.

Marinette groaned. Leave it to Chat to ruin the one chance she had to talk to her hero.

* * *

Chat Noir froze in place.

His father was there. Why was his father there? Did he know that Adrien was attending the dance? He didn't think he mentioned it to anyone. Even Nathalie thought he was going to a friend's house for the evening. Why was his father there?

He didn't even notice Marinette for several seconds. When he finally realized she was there, everything clicked into place.

How could he have been so stupid?

Volpina came up from behind him. Her flute was by her side.

"V-Volpina! Chat Noir!" Marinette gasped. "What-what are you two doing here?"

Volpina looked between Marinette and Gabriel. "Don't worry about us." She grabbed Chat Noir's arm and tried to pull him towards the ballroom.

Chat couldn't move. All he could do was stare at Marinette and his father.

Volpina looked back towards the two civilians to say something, but her eyes seemed to freeze for a moment. Chat felt her grip on his arm tighten.

So she noticed it too, then. He was glad. At least then he wasn't the only one.

His staff beeped softly in his hand, reminding him that Hawkmoth was in the room with them. He wouldn't have believed it otherwise. He couldn't believe, even with the proof right in front of him. Of all the people in the world, he never could have guessed…

A loud explosion from the ballroom rocked the floor. Chat stumbled a little to keep his balance. He threw his hurt arm out to catch himself without thinking. He bit down on his tongue to keep from yelping out in pain. Dust and debris flew into the room from the adjacent doors, followed closely by screams. He didn't even have time to react to the screams as another explosion came from directly above them. Chat lifted his good arm to shield his eyes. A large marbled beam crashed down onto the floor in front of him, creating a barrier between him and the others. Dust and crumbled marble bounced and scattered out towards him, making it difficult to see. He could hear both Marinette and his father coughing on the other side. Neither of them had been hurt.

"Chat!" Volpina called from on the other side of the debris. "Go see if the others in the ballroom are alright!"

Chat felt his chest tighten She was right; this was something he had to take care of now. After all, he knew who Hawkmoth was now. There was no escape. He nodded to himself, and raced out of the room.

How could he have been so stupid? All this time, Hawkmoth had been so close. How did he never notice that the villain they'd been chasing for years was none other than Marinette?


	16. Don't Leave Me Ne Me Quitte Pas

Volpina's heart was pounding furiously. Her eyes managed to keep locked onto the peacock pin secured on Gabriel Agreste's jacket, even through the dust. She'd know that pin anywhere. It belonged to Blu Pavone. William always wore that stupid pin. He'd never let go of it, and Roxxy would have told her if there was a new Blu Pavone. Especially after what happened the other night.

No, this pin didn't belong to him, which left only one real option.

She just sent Chat out of the room and was now alone with Marinette and Hawkmoth.

Volpina grabbed her dormmates wrist and yanked her towards the door behind them. Right now, all she could think about was getting sweet Marinette off to safety. "We need to move!"

Marinette was stumbling over the ruined marble on the floor, but she managed to keep up. The pair darted through the halls until they reached the ballroom.

The ballroom was complete and utter chaos. The entire room looked like a war zone. Moonlight streamed in through several holes in the roof. Crumbled marble and broken glass littered the floor. Columns lay broken and created a maze through the room. People were screaming and running around.

A blue light darted around the area, appearing in one place then vanishing, only to appear elsewhere. It was exactly like the other night. Just like Blu Pavone.

Volpina's heart skipped a beat.

"Wha…what?" Marinette's eyes watched the blue light with wide eyes.

Volpina shook her head. This wasn't possible. "It has Pavone's power. But it can't be him. It can't be. I saw the peacock pin."

"Pavone?" Marinette asked.

Volpina looked over at the girl. Her cheeks were striped with tears, and her hair was askew from the explosion. She was staring at her with curiosity. Volpina didn't even know she'd said Pavone's name aloud. She shook her head and dismissed the thought of her former partner for the moment. "Are you alright? Can you get out yourself? I need to help others."

Marinette nodded.

"Good," Volpina replied and looked back towards the ballroom. "Then go. Quickly."

* * *

"I thought we fought off Blu Pavone?" Marinette asked Tikki as she ran back into the hallway.

"That's not Blu Pavone," Tikki answered. "It's an akuma."

"An akuma?" Marinette turned the corner to find a collapsed ceiling that blocked her path. She turned around and started running the other direction. It was quite difficult to run in a big dress and heels.

"Hawkmoth has the ability to give others powers," Tikki explained. "He's given this akuma the powers of Blu Pavone to distract Volpina. I think he knows she can't attack him."

"Oh." Marinette frowned. Poor Carlotta. She didn't need something like this. She was just starting to heal with the help of Adrien.

Marinette flinched inward as the thought of Adrien crossed her mind. Was he alright? She slowed to a stop and looked over her shoulder back towards the ballroom.

"Marinette?" Tikki asked.

She ignored the kwami and started to walk back towards the ballroom. She had to make sure Adrien was safe, then she could transform and take care of the akuma.

"Marinette!" Tikki shrieked and then darted behind her back as a noise came from down the hall.

A moment later, Chat Noir pounced into the room. He didn't even see her as he raced towards the ballroom.

"Chat!" Marinette called out to him. Maybe he could find Adrien while she transformed.

Chat Noir paused for a moment. When his eyes settled on her, Marinette felt a chill down her back. The brilliant green eyes of Chat dropped down to small slits. His lip curled back and she could have sworn she heard him growl.

"Ch-Chat?" Marinette took half a step back.

"You!" He took a step towards her, then another. He was still a great deal away from her, but suddenly Marinette felt like there wasn't enough space. "I know who you are!"

She felt her face pale. How could he possibly have known!? "M-me? I-I-I-I mean…what?"

He took another step. His staff was gripped tightly in his good hand. "Don't play games with me. I tracked you."

Marinete swallowed. Chat Noir had tracked her? Why did he do that? And why was he looking at her like that? Was he really that angry that she was Ladybug? She tried to step back, but her heel hit the wall. She was trapped.

He closed the distance between them and practically stepped on her dress. His lip curled back and his teeth glinted in the moonlight. "Hawkmoth," he hissed.

Marinette leaned back and put her hands on the wall behind her. She blinked. Hawkmoth? Did he just call her Hawkmoth?

"Wha-what?" She would have laughed if he didn't look so downright terrifying. As well as she knew him, this was a side of Chat Noir she'd never seen. It frightened her. Even though she knew he was hurt, he was moving as if he was healed.

"You heard me," he growled.

"Ch-Chat. You…you can't be serious," Marinette chuckled with a nervous squeak. She sounded more like a wounded mouse than an innocent girl. "I'm…I'm not Hawkmoth."

"Liar!" he roared.

Marinette stumbled off to the side.

"I thought I knew you! I trusted you!" he yelled.

She managed to take a few steps backwards before she fell to the ground. It wasn't until Chat Noir stepped in the doorway that she realized she'd managed to corner herself in a closet.

"Chat!" Marinette cried back. "That's crazy! I'm not Hawkmoth!"

"No more lies." Chat's face darkened as he grabbed the door. "No more akuma."

"No, wait!" Marinette jumped up to her feet and raced to the door, but she was too late. He slammed it shut and locked her inside.

* * *

Volpina raced through the ballroom as best she could. There were far too many people trapped under the debris, and the blue light kept appearing to cause problems. She really needed Chat Noir and Ladybug's help.

As if he read her mind, Chat Noir appeared behind her.

"We need to get these people out of here," Volpina told him. She paused when she saw his face. He was staring at the ground and his fists were clenched at his sides. "Chat, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," he grumbled back.

Volpina hesitated, then decided to just accept his answer. They didn't have time for anything else. "Where's Ladybug?"

"I don't know," he replied. This time his voice was a little softer. "I wish she'd hurry up. I need her."

The blue light flashed above them and Volpina managed to dart off to the side just in time as a part of the ceiling crashed down where she once was.

"Chat! We need to take care of him and then go after Hawkmoth!" Now that she knew who he was, Volpina was determined to put an end to his reign of terror. Especially if taking out Hawkmoth meant she could get the blue peacock pin back.

"I have that taken care of," Chat Noir replied.

* * *

Marinette was having none of this. She growled and stomped her foot in anger for a moment, then went into full determination mode.

"How could he think that I'm Hawkmoth!?" she mumbled to herself as she rearranged the shelving in the closet. "Me!? How stupid does that kitty have to be?!"

"Why would he think that?" Tikki asked. "It seems strange, and sudden."

"Ugh, stupid, stupid cat." Marinette pushed a chair up against the wall and climbed on top of it. Her foot slipped as it caught her dress, but she managed to catch herself and reached up to the air vent.

"If you transform, you don't have to worry about ruining your dress," Tikki laughed to herself.

"I think it may be a little late for that," Marinette frowned as she pulled the vent cover off the wall. The pathway was thin, but she could fit inside. "Alright, Tikki, transform me!"

* * *

"What do you mean, 'taken care of'?" Volpina asked.

Before Chat could answer, another column cracked and groaned as it started to collapse. He pushed off the wall and snatched the man standing in fear in the destruction. Chat Noir dragged him off to the doorway before turning back to the teleporting blue light.

"We need to catch him!" Chat Noir said. He completely ignored Volpina's previous question.

"There's still Hawkmoth-" Volpina started.

"It's taken care of," Chat Noir repeated. He slammed his staff on the ground and started to chase after the blue light. Below, he could hear Volpina racing around. Between the two of them, they could almost catch the akuma. It was difficult, since the akuma was trying to destroy the very building in which they were in, but it was slowly running out of columns to take out.

"Towards you!" Volpina shouted.

Chat Noir pounced left as the blue light flickered in front of him. He didn't even have time to react before it was gone again.

"Ah!" Volpina flew backwards into the wall as the light plowed into her.

"Volpina!" Chat shouted after her.

"I'm okay!" she groaned as she forced herself up to her feet. Her shoulder held a deep gash.

"He's too fast!" Chat Noir grumbled.

"I know," Volpina agreed. "Get ready!"

"For what?" Chat Noir watched as an orange streak started to zig zag after the blue light. A moment later, both of them stopped and he heard a loud grunting noise.

"Catch!" Volpina shouted.

Chat Noir saw her standing on top of a broken column. Bent over in front of her was a man in a strange blue outfit clutching his stomach. A small blue item flew through the air towards him, and Chat almost missed it.

He caught the little blue peacock-shaped figurine.

"Go ahead, kitty," Ladybug's voice came from across the room.

Chat lifted his head to see his lady standing there with her yo-yo already spinning. He nodded, and threw the figure to the ground. With a quick stomp, it broke and a black butterfly flew from it.

A quick capture and release later, the ballroom swirled with red until it was restored to its former glory. The people who were still strapped inside found themselves free. The columns all straightened back up and the moonlight had nowhere to come in through the ceiling. Everything was back to how it had been.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir ran over towards her. "I need your help."

"Oh?" She looked at him with a hint of sadness.

"I have Hawkmoth trapped," he told her.

"What?!" Volpina came up to join them. "You caught him!?"

Chat Noir nodded. He didn't take his eyes off Ladybug. "But I…I need your help. It's someone I know. I don't think…I don't think I can…"

Ladybug sighed and looked off into the ballroom. "Chat…"

"You don't understand," Chat explained. "I know her. In my real life. I can't."

"Her?" Volpina asked.

Ladybug froze. Her face reddened. "Real life?"

Chat looked over at Volpina. "Go home. You're hurt. Rest. We'll take care of this."

Volpina scoffed. "I'm not hurt that badly. You're hurt worse than me."

Chat Noir shook his head. "It doesn't hurt that bad when I'm in costume. Besides, this is between Ladybug, me, and Hawkmoth."

"It involves me, too." Volpina narrowed her eyes.

"Volpina," Ladybug said softly.

Chat and Volpina turned to look at her.

"It's okay," Ladybug said. "Go home. He's right. This is between us."

Volpina frowned, but turned and ran off in an orange flash.

"Now," Ladybug said as she turned towards Chat Noir. "How do you know who Hawkmoth is?"


	17. Small Town Moon

Chat knows her in real life. Chat knows Marinette. Ladybug was thankful for her mask, as she feared her face was quite red with this discovery.

Chat Noir jerked his head towards the doorway. "Just…come on, I'll take you to Hawkmoth."

Ladybug frowned. He still thought Marinette was Hawkmoth for some reason. "Hey, Chat? Um, why do you think you have Hawkmoth?"

"I tracked her," he told her as they walked into the hallway. "When I followed the tracker, I came across her in a room with only one other person. I think she was about to akumatize him."

Ladybug gasped. That other person was Gabriel Agreste. That…that wasn't possible! Her voice cracked. "Are you sure you had the right room? Your tracking wasn't quite so specific before."

He nodded as he came to a stop in front of the closet door. "Yeah, I'm sure. Hawkmoth was in that room, and now she's in here." He paused for a moment. "She's a friend. Or…was a friend. LB, I'm not sure I can fight her."

Ladybug felt a soft chill race through her. Chat was her friend? Who was he!? She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Chat, I think you made a mistake." How was she going to convince him that Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste, famous fashion designer?

Even she had a hard time believing it. Gabriel was a hard man, and he certainly looked like a villain at times, but she found it hard to imagine him parading around as a part-time bad guy. He was rich and had everything anyone could ask for. What could he possibly want the Miraculouses for?

"I didn't," Chat Noir said firmly. "She's Hawkmoth."

Ladybug's thoughts wandered further. If Gabriel was Hawkmoth, did Adrien know? Or worse, what if Adrien was involved! Her dear, sweet Adrien! No, he couldn't be a villain! He was too kind and caring! There was no way he could be evil! Adrien is perfection! Besides, he was estranged from his father, wasn't he? Then was Adrien in danger? She hated the idea of him living with such a monster.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Chat stepped towards the closet door.

"Wait! Chat!"

She was too late. He threw opened the door to reveal an empty closet.

"She escaped!" Chat growled. He slammed his fist into his palm. "We need to find her!"

"Chat, hang on a second," Ladybug said.

"No! We can't wait! She got out! Who knows where she is now?"

Ladybug flinched a little at his yelling, then straightened up. She narrowed her eyes at him and put a hand on her hip. "Alright kitty, you need to calm down right now."

"I had Hawkmoth!" Chat yelled. "I finally had her! How am I supposed to calm down!?"

"Chat…" Ladybug took a slow step towards her partner. "You can track Hawkmoth, right?"

His eyes widened and he snatched his staff off his back to flip it open. Ladybug held her breath as the map zoomed into where the dot blinked. Part of her was scared that it might actually be tracking her for some reason. She breathed out in relief as it showed the dot moving smoothly down a road a little way away. It worried her when she realized it was heading back to Adrien's house.

"Come on, we can catch her!" Chat grabbed Ladybug's wrist.

"No!" She snapped her hand down and free from his grasp.

He turned to look at her with anger in his face.

"Chat," Ladybug said. "Think about it. You think you know who Hawkmoth is, right? There's no need to go after him tonight."

"Her," he corrected her. As he spoke, the dot disappeared from his map.

"See?" Ladybug pointed to the staff. "Hawkmoth is gone for the night anyway. Relax. The akuma is destroyed. You need to rest. You're still hurt."

"I'm fine," he huffed, but she could tell she was starting to get through to him.

"Please, Chat?" she asked. "For me? You need to rest."

He sighed and rubbed his arm. "But I know her, LB."

It still shocked her. Who could she possibly know well enough that would worry like this? Ivan? Nino? Nathaniel had a crush on her, so he was the most likely possibility. But all three of them had been akumatized. It felt like everyone in her class had been akumatized.

"Go rest," Ladybug said again. She was starting to feel uneasy. Gabriel would be home soon. Did Adrien know his father was Hawkmoth? Would he be okay? "Tomorrow we can meet up at the tower and discuss this, I promise. But let's go over this together."

He frowned, but nodded.

The moment Chat Noir left the building, Ladybug dashed towards Adrien's house. She only hoped he was okay.

* * *

"I can't believe it, Plagg." Adrien sat on the couch with his head in his hands. His room was dark and the only light streamed in from his giant windows. "I can't believe it's her."

He could hear Plagg rummaging about in his room, but the kwami didn't answer. Adrien didn't care. He was talking to himself more, anyway.

He liked Marinette. She was kind and he really did consider her a friend. So the whole thing made it incredibly difficult, especially when he started to realize she was usually missing during an akuma attack. Not always, but there was a trend. When she was there, like for the Evillustrator, she always vanished before the akuma was caught.

Adrien groaned. "What would possess her to do something like that?"

A soft rapping sound came from his window and Adrien looked up to find Ladybug hanging by her yo-yo string. Of all things, he had not expected that. His heart skipped a beat as he rushed over to the window and opened it for her.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "Are you home alone?"

Adrien shook his head. "No, but you don't have to whisper. No one will be paying attention to my room."

It was then he noticed she was shaking. Trembling, even. Her face was troubled and she couldn't seem to stand still comfortably.

"Adrien…" she began. "There's something I need to tell you. It…it won't be easy to hear but-"

"Wait," Adrien stopped her. His heart was pounding. He had to tell her. He needed to. He knew he could trust Ladybug and he needed to tell her right this moment how he felt before he was betrayed by someone else. "I need to tell you something first, and it's important."

"You…you do?" She seemed surprised.

He nodded. "I've been keeping a secret from you, Ladybug, and I need to tell you." He rubbed at the ring on his finger.

Her voice squeaked with a nervousness he'd never heard from his Lady before. "Se-secret?"

Adrien took in a deep breath. "Ladybug, I like you. A lot. I might even…I mean, I do…I mean, I just…" His hands fidgeted uncomfortably. The light from the windows didn't offer him much in telling what her facial expression was. "You're more than just a hero to me. Today…well, today I found out that someone I thought I knew was a lie. It's affecting me, and I realized I was living a lie if I didn't tell you how I feel."

"I…uh…what?" Ladybug stuttered.

"It's okay if you don't love me back," he said quickly. His face reddened. Maybe it was best he expressed his love as Adrien instead of Chat Noir. He would have hated it if it ruined their partnership. But he had to tell her. He needed to her know. "I just…I didn't want to live a lie anymore."

And then it hit him. He was still lying to her. She didn't know who he was. He had to tell her. He needed to tell her. He couldn't trust Marinette, or any of his friends, but he could trust her. He'd trust her with his life. He could trust her with his identity. He rubbed his ring again.

She wasn't saying anything. She seemed shocked, which he supposed she would be. Who was someone like him to a heroine like her? She probably got love declarations all the time, and he knew she was too kind hearted to dismiss any of them without compassion.

Before she could tell him how she didn't love him back, he spoke up. It was now or never, he supposed. "And…well, there's another thing. I know you better than you think. I've been fighting along-"

"Adrien!"

Adrien turned around to find his father standing in his bedroom doorway. He hadn't even heard the door open.

Before he could ask his father what he wanted, Ladybug darted in front of him. He reached his hand up to push her aside when he heard a soft growl. Was that coming from her?

His father's eyes narrowed as they darted between Adrien and Ladybug. His hand reached up and grabbed the knot in his tie.

"Adrien, run!" Ladybug said. She pulled her yo-yo out and started to spin it around.

"What?" Adrien practically scoffed. Did she think her father was akumatized? Adrien looked over Gabriel. No, he was very much himself, just annoyed. Then again, when was his father anything but disappointed and annoyed with him?

"Run and hide!" she snapped back at him and lunged forward.

Adrien stared in disbelief as a purple light engulfed his father. Ladybug charged forward and collided right into Hawkmoth. He was far taller than her, and as they crashed into the wall behind him, he was able to reach over her and toss her towards Adrien's couch.

Adrien blinked.

Hawkmoth?

It didn't make sense. Hawkmoth was Marinette. Marinette was in that room; she had to be Hawkmoth. Sure, his father was there too, but his father didn't even have time for him. When could he possibly have time to be Hawkmoth?

Adrien felt his heart wrench. Of course. His father spent time as Hawkmoth, not at work. He lied to him. Not only that, he was using his time for evil. But…how could he? Why would he? His father was a bitter and strict man, but he always thought he was doing what was right.

"Run!" Ladybug yelped again as Hawkmoth flew through the air towards her. He smacked right into her and the pair of them went tumbling backwards out of Adrien's open window.

"Ladybug!" Adrien ran over to the window and scanned the ground below.

"You need to transform!" Plagg said from behind him. "Let's go help her!"

Adrien stared down at the ground. He could see the red and purple colliding with each other, but they were making their way off his property. Soon, the grounds were left without a trace that they'd even been there.

Hawkmoth was his father.

"Adrien!" Volpina's voice came from somewhere off behind him.

"Volpina!" Plagg's voice replied. "We have to go help Ladybug!"

"I know who Hawkmoth is." Volpina rushed over by Adrien's side.

"Yeah." Adrien's throat felt dry and his face hot. "I know."

She didn't respond, and he was thankful for it. Both Ladybug and Volpina had come to warn him, and he'd been so foolish to think that he needed to tell Ladybug how he felt. She was genuinely worried about him and he had to ruin it by declaring his love. What a fool he was. He ruined everything.

Plagg was right. Right now, he needed to help her. He owed her that.

"Plagg, claws out!"


	18. One More Time with Feeling

Chat could see the city was flying by beneath him, but he barely knew he was even moving. Everything felt numb as he bumbled his way after Volpina towards the Siene. She could have been leading him to anywhere and he wouldn't have noticed. His thoughts were tied up on Hawkmoth.

He didn't know his dad very well, but he thought he knew him well enough to know he wouldn't be a super villain. None of it made any sense. Gabriel was strict, but he wasn't really what one would call evil. Adrien despised his behaviour, but he assumed it was just overprotection from a parent who lost someone they loved.

So what would bring a semi-loving father and incredibly busy businessman to the breaking point of joining up with the side of evil and hatred?

Chat Noir shook his head. He didn't understand.

"Wow…" Volpina slowed to a stop and Chat came up beside her.

He lifted his head to see what she was looking at. It was the Eiffel tower, decked out in its usual night-time lights. Underneath it was what appeared to be a small army of people almost encircling a tiny red speck in the middle.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir shouted as he took off.

"Wait!" he heard Volpina shout after him, but he didn't stop.

He could make out random villainous figures, but something about them was different. They weren't normal akuma. They almost look like the minions of an akuma, since they were all alike. Their bodies were black and see through, like dark shadows, and they moved in short, jerking motions. There were a few dozen of them, and they were almost all the way around Ladybug.

Chat landed on the closest rooftop to the tower and crouched to take off again when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"We need a plan, Chat!" Volpina said as she tugged on his shoulder.

"I have a plan," he muttered to himself. His plan was simple and stupid. Get to Ladybug and stop the bad guys.

He ignored Volpina, pushed off one final time and flew through the air. He landed next to Ladybug with a loud crash as his staff slammed into the ground. He hit a little harder than he expected and a slight tremor of pain rippled through his body. He winced as his shoulder reminded him he was far from healed.

"You alright, Chat?" Ladybug asked. Her yo-yo spun furiously in front of her as she awaited the impending attack.

"Landed on my feet," Chat Noir replied. He gripped his staff and held it out in front of him as he positioned his back to her. They were completely surrounded now. "Looks like you called in a party."

"More like Hawkmoth," Ladybug growled. "I almost had him, Chat, but he called out this army and hid like a coward."

Chat opened his mouth to snap back that his father wasn't a coward when he realized just exactly what he was going to say. Now was not the time to defend Hawkmoth, or to accidently reveal who he was.

The first of the shadow creatures lunged forward, and then a sea of black raced towards them. Ladybug and Chat Noir dropped down into a defensive stance. Chat held his breath as a black figure came up to him. Just as it got close enough for him to strike, a flash of orange raced by his face.

Volpina raced around the pair of them, and as she did, the shadowy creatures seemed to be thrown back away from them. It wasn't until they were pushed back a good distance before Volpina stopped next to Ladybug. She bent over, out of breath.

"Wow. That was good, Volpina," Ladybug said with wide eyes.

"They're coming back." Chat lowered himself back down to a defence position.

Volpina raised a hand. "Wait…" she huffed. "I got them….go get Hawkmoth."

"There's too many of them," Chat pointed out.

Ladybug looked around and up the tower. "I think he must be up there. Chat, if you use Cataclysm on the tower it'll bring him down to us."

"On the tower!?" Chat exclaimed.

"Go!" Volpina stood up and took in a deep breath.

"Are you sure you can handle it?" Ladybug asked.

Volpina nodded. "I've seen shadows like these before."

"You have?" Ladybug asked.

Chat shuddered. He wasn't really paying attention to Ladybug and Volpina. His thoughts were focused on Hawkmoth. On his father. If he really was in the tower…maybe he could do something?

Behind him he heard Ladybug and Volpina shouting, but he was already gone. He raced as fast as he could and vaulted over the shadow figures towards the tower. He'd run here so quickly to save Ladybug, but now that he was here, he only wanted to confront his father. If they were alone, maybe he could talk to him. Maybe he could make some sense out of everything that was going on.

Something brushed his foot and Chat Noir found himself tumbling through the air towards the ground. He crashed onto the cement on his bad shoulder and a shockwave of red hot pain ventured through him. His legs kicked involuntarily as he rolled over. His vision was blurred with the sudden influx of pain, but he could see shadows looming close by.

"Chat!" Ladybug yelled off in the distance.

He groaned and tried to sit up, but his breath caught in his throat. Off to the side, he saw a long dark shape coming towards him.

"Close your eyes!" Volpina's voice came from somewhere far away, but Chat did as she asked.

The light was bright, far brighter than it had any right being. It reminded him of when Ladybug took his Miraculous. He buried his face into his arm, and even then it was still too bright.

When the light faded, he looked up and frantically tried to find Ladybug. His thoughts were dancing all over the place. He needed Ladybug to be safe. He needed to find Hawkmoth. He needed to stop being in so much pain.

Ladybug was closer to him than Volpina. She hurried the rest of the way over to him.

"Chat? Are you alright?!" She seemed far more worried than she needed to be.

"Yeah," he groaned.

To his surprise, she lunged forward and hugged him there on the ground. He winced slightly at the sensitive pain in his shoulder, but gladly welcomed her embrace.

"Those shadows," she whispered in his ears. "They are just like what killed Volpina's partner."

"What?" Chat jerked backwards. He didn't understand. How did she know?

Ladybug pulled back from the hug and smiled weakly at him. "I was worried I was going to lose you, too."

"Are you alright?" Volpina walked up to them.

Chat looked up at the fox heroine. Her flute was in hand and she looked ready to fight again at a moment's notice.

He nodded. "You know what those things were?"

Volpina bit her lip, then after a moment nodded.

"We can discuss it later," Ladybug said as she got up to her feet. "We need to find Hawkmoth."

"Oh, let me, ugh." Chat Noir stumbled as he tried to stand and fell back down.

"Chat!" Ladybug grabbed his arm.

"I'm alright." He forced a grin. "Just a little cat scratch."

"He's fine," Ladybug said flatly as she let go of his arm.

He pulled himself up to his feet and glanced towards the tower. "Listen, let me go talk to Hawkmoth first. Alone."

"Are you crazy!?" Ladybug gasped. "No way! We have no idea what he's capable of!"

"Chat, are you sure?" Volpina asked.

He nodded. "I need to know for myself. And I might be able to stop him."

"You can't stop him!" Ladybug snapped back. "He's crazy! He's evil! If you go in there alone he'll akumatize you or…or…or worse!"

"I'll be fine, bugaboo."

"No you won't!" Ladybug shouted back. "And we're a team! I'll never let you fight him alone!"

"Ladybug," Volpina said softly. "I think you should let him."

Ladybug dropped her jaw and glanced between the pair of them. "Have you both gone crazy!? That's Hawkmoth in there!"

Chat took in a deep breath. He had to face his father. It might get him killed, especially if he told him who he was, but he had to do it. If there was a chance to save his father, to save Paris, to save Ladybug…he had to take it.

He turned to Ladybug and gave her a small smile. "You know, bugaboo, I've always loved you."

"What?!" Ladybug gasped.

He winked at her, and then took off.

Behind him, he could hear Ladybug calling after him. He didn't dare look, but he could tell Volpina was holding his lady back. That was good. He didn't want her to get hurt. This was something he had to do alone.

His face reddened as he reached the tower. He couldn't believe he finally told her how he felt. After all this time.

It was a shame he was probably going to die.


End file.
